The Sands of time
by Brewski2444
Summary: A star Trek crossover novel based on FASA Trek,and crossed over with many others, mainly Magic the Gathering. Generally set in TMP - I put the date as the 27th century as when we get this tech.  The physics is my own - I have two degrees in physics!
1. Awakening

The Sands of Time:

The Tales of a Timewalker

FOREWORD

Call me a daydreamer, or a crossover artist. But not a crossdresser! I leave that to my more capable friends. This is a journey into science fiction – mainly Star Trek. But being loosely based on A. Bertram Chandlers "Rim Runners" where the fabric of the universe is thin and other realities intrude, so many other themes end up meeting. Strange things happen out on the rim. Not necessarily in any order they are: Alien, Space 1999, Fred Saberhagen's Berserkers, Warhammer 40K, GURPS, Battlestar Galactica, the MTG multiverse, Babylon 5, but no Star Wars. I hear Lucas is sue-happy. (Actually I couldn't reconcile the timelines!) This story is based on the Alternative Timeline as found in _The Starship Combat Alternative_, and starts in the 27th century. Some names have been changed to protect the guilty (that would be me), but you should recognize them anyways. This is actually for storyline as I reconcile the different physics that occurs in each.

IANAL & YMMV

Star Trek is a property of Paramount

Alien is a property of 20th Century Fox

Space 1999 is a property of Gerry Anderson

Warhammer is a property of Games Workshop

GURPS is a property of Steve Jackson Games

Battlestar Galactica is a property of Universal (et al.)

Magic the Gathering is a property of Wizards of the Coast

Babylon 5 is a property of Warner / Turner

* * *

Each chapter is named after a song:

the song list (artist in italics)

Song _Artist_

The Awakening _Imperium_

Send Me an Angel _Real Life_

Dark Tower _Midnight Syndicate_

The Mines of Moria _ARZ_

Silent Running _Mike &the Mechanics_

New Orleans is Sinking _Tragically Hip_

Orion Rising _Plunge_

Beauty Hides in the Deep _Doppler Effect_

Dancing on Thin Ice _Plunge_

Take the Long Way Home _Supertramp_

The Spiders kiss _Neglected Fields_

Return of the … _Satelliters_

Tyrannis _Imperthean_

War _Edwin Starr_

LV-426 _Woodpeckers_

Child in Time _Deep Purple_

Sara _Starship_

Broken Wings _Mr. Mister_

Ride Captain Ride _Blues Image_

Stepping Out _Joe Jackson_

As the rush Comes _Motorcycle_

What Next _Tahiti 80_

This is the End _The Doors_

And you will have to wait for the second novel to find the BSG story.

* * *

**1: AWAKENING**

I've lived a good life, all 71 years of it. I've watched the U.S. "Empire" fall, and over 2 billion deaths. Peak oil was a part of my vocabulary since before the 21st century. But most people didn't get it until it was too late. After the Iraq war initiated the Great Resource Wars, civilization started to crumble at the first quarter of the century, It wasn't long before us "fogeys" were destined to die younger than our parent's generation. I was actually expecting it sooner. Since the end of most advanced medical care occurred in my mid fifties, the fact that I made it to my seventies was somewhat of a miracle, especially considering my medical condition. But by that time I was a respected elder of my community. Being a retired science teacher in a small town I was well positioned to help my community through these times. In fact until the cancer crippled me, I was the town's Energy Master, building and installing solar and wind systems, and at least keeping the lights on. Deterioration of my condition came quickly, and at least I didn't suffer as my vast hoard of silver allowed me to spend the last of my days drugged up against the pain.

* * *

I woke up in a dimly lit room. The illumination seemed to emanate from the entire ceiling. The walls were gray, and a single set of pocket doors adorned the far wall.

"Oh great, I'm dead. Hey I was just kidding about that elevator thingie." The only thing I could think of at the time was the joke that when you die there is an elevator with only one button marked "H". It wasn't until after you pressed it that you found out if you were going to heaven or hell. But something wasn't right. Since when did purgatory have the hum of machinery? I just wasn't buying it that I was hearing elevator motors...

The pocket doors open, and in walks ... a man. Wearing a red tunic, he stood about 6 feet tall, and looked about 30 years old. "Geddus tuzi urr waak."

"What did you say?" I dumbly replied. He cocked his head a little, and I could see realization dawning on his face. He reached into his tunic and pulled out a small pouch. It contained a T-shaped device and a collection of small vials. He picked out one such vial, inserted it into the device and gestured to me to sit up. Ok, sitting up seemed to relatively easy. No nausea or dizziness...

BANG! He pressed the device to my temple and pressed a button. I could see only red through the pain.

"OUCH! Hey! That HURT!"

"Oh don't worry. The pain is only temporary. Your vision will return to normal in about a minute. As I said before: Glad to see you are awake." He said, in perfect accent-less English.

"OK, wait a minute. Just what did you do to me? Just now you were speaking gibberish, and now you can speak perfect English," I replied.

"Actually I was and am still speaking Federation Standard. I just implanted you with the latest version of our universal translator. You now will be able to speak with most sentient species in the galaxy. By the way I'm doctor Raytheon. I was in charge of your return to health."

"Uh, thanks, I think ... Hey wait a minute! Just what do you mean by 'most sentient species in the galaxy'?" Something just clicked in my mind, and I didn't like it a bit.

"Well obviously no one has told you yet, but welcome to the 27th century. By your calendar it's April 28th 2683." He stated.

"And by your calendar?" I retorted. I really started feeling that something was very wrong.

"That's easy. Stardate 11393.6. Base Time." He replied matter-of-factly. I looked him over intently this time. The red tunic he was wearing was part of a military uniform, resembling the RCMP "mountie" uniforms of the late 20th century. The material did not appear to have any fabric weave to it. He had two insignia on his chest. One was obviously medical – the caduceus apparently had survived the test of time and the other was different; a pair of cranked arrows encompassing a star. He also had a rank pip on his collar, a pretty fancy one.

It took a while to sink in. Everything that I knew was hundreds of years in the past. And a lot had gone on in the intervening time. Still I couldn't complain. I was alive. I had almost (?) all of my memories. And when I looked in the mirror a fit late thirty-something version of myself stared back at me, instead of either the chubby geezer or the gaunt bald cancer patient. I did still have glasses, as apparently the revival treatment is incompatible with Retnax-Five, the cure all drug for eyesight. But hey, the auto-shades were cool.

* * *

"Good to see you up and about so soon!" The rather smarmy Admiral greeted me. It's been 3 days since my "resurrection", and nobody has bothered to tell me anything further. I've been fed and watered and treated well, but beyond walking around this "sickbay" the only people I have met are the doctor and his nurses. "You have responded well to your condition."

"You mean the formerly dead?" I responded.

"Has nobody told you anything yet?" he replied.

"Nothing. Other than it's May 1, 2683."

"Ah, yes. Well first of all, you're going to have to get used to the Stardate system. Although only officially adopted about 30 years ago, it has been in use since the founding of the Federation. Nobody uses the Gregorian calendar in the 27th century."

"Well actually I use the Julian calendar!" I was feeling pretty sarcastic this morning. First of all I have this really bad feeling about this guy. I have learned Starfleet's rank structure and insignia, so I know this guy is an admiral. So just how did such a smarmy politician type make flag rank? It seems that not much has changed after all these years.

"OK. Lets start at the beginning. What do you know about project _Icarus_?"

"Absolutely squat." I replied. How was I supposed to know about modern projects? I've been dead for over 600 years!

"Just what DO you remember from the 21st century?" He has a quizzical look on his face when the doctor walked in. "Doctor, are there usually memory problems with your treatment methods?"

"Dying of cancer." I replied while the doctor simultaneously said "No."

"So you don't remember signing up for project _Icarus_? So how did you end up on that ship?" the admiral asked. A dim memory clicked in my mind. I don't remember anything about a ship but with my vast hoard of useless silver (after the Western Fall physical money had little meaning except for buying some luxuries - such as painkillers) I did remember spending some on a burial in space, on a Chinese rocket. I said as much. "Well, there's your problem!" He went on. "I guess you didn't know just what you bought, did you? Let me explain. Rich people from your time signed up for a shot at immortality. When they died they would be frozen in liquid nitrogen and 'put in storage' until a future time could cure them of what killed them, as well as fix the damage of the freezing process. Most of them never made it. Equipment broke down, funding dried up or entombment sites were ransacked. You were frozen upon death ... But wait there's more," he smirked. "Let me tell you what _Icarus_ was physically, and see if you can figure it out. Imagine a capsule 7 meters long and 2.5 wide. Down the center is a cryo-coolant tank, and surrounding it 3 groups of 6 each caskets, each filled with a body, frozen in nitrogen. Each capsule was blasted into Earth orbit to join with a main craft, itself consisting of 3 sections, a rocket motor, fuel tanks, and a guidance system. Each capsule was attached to this main frame, 18 capsules in all. Once the ship was completely assembled, the rocket lifted it out of Earth orbit on a planetary route Venus, Earth, Neptune. What do you think happened next?"

It didn't take long for me to parse it out. "Ok, I was frozen and not just buried in space. The craft's trajectory would swing it out past Neptune and cast it into the Kuiper Belt. Out in the Kuiper belt you wouldn't need supplies of liquid nitrogen to keep the cargo frozen. Did it go into a long period orbit?"

"Got it in one. Good. And yes it was in a long period orbit. Its first return to perihelion was when it was picked up on scanners, twelve years ago. Putting you folks back together is not a short easy problem to solve." The doctor at this point rolled his eyes and left, after running a scanner over me. "Of the 324 bodies on board only 47 could be revived. In your case the cancer was a breeze compared to ruptured cell walls. You know they practically poured you out of that casket. It wasn't until the end of the 22nd century that the damage of freezing a body was eliminated through the use of Insulactin. That's when routine freezing for long duration voyages became commonplace. Now it's only used in emergencies, or in the case of Klingons, to carry extra troops aboard their starships."

"Starships, huh." OK, not too unexpected by the 27th century. The first question that came to mind was what kind of starships would they be. And how hard it was to get a hold of one. Were they the used cars of this century, or were they unobtanium?

"Yes. You have a LOT of catch up learning to do. Luckily for you we can make it really easy. We have auto-teachers!" Proudly.

"OK, I'll bite. What's an auto-teacher?" He led me out of the room and down the hall. At the end of the hall there were 3 sets of doors. We went through the right one. We entered a chamber that was full of sickbay beds. Not just your ordinary sick bay beds. And not all of them were unoccupied. Each occupant was "wearing" a device that resembled a large spiky helmet. Each of the spikes has a cable attaching it to a computer. The unoccupied beds had the helmet hanging up on the wall.

"This technology is brand spanking new. It's based on 'the Great Teacher', a device owned by the Eymorgs of Sigma Draconis VI. It took us 25 years of modifications to make the knowledge transfer to the recipient permanent. This is one of the only three facilities in existence. We can take 100 days of rigorous training and compress it into one!" He beamed. "The first thing you should do is taking a week of catching up on events over the past six centuries or so. Then you can choose a training program that fits your needs. Soon you will be joining your fellow survivors in a rigorous training program. Welcome to Section 31."

* * *

The Rim: a place where no major power has a great influence. And few federation starships actually go. So what was a Sunshine class Liner doing out here anyway? Officially a nebula cruise, deep in the Orion sector. All those wonderful nebulae and star forming regions would look so much better when viewed close up. And besides the Sunshines were the latest in Federation ship technology. Shields, phasers (a first for a starliner), and fifth generation warp drive assured the passengers' and crews' safety.

The real reason this cruise liner was here was a little different. The voyage is a special charter, by someone rich enough to rent a major starship all to themselves for almost three months. It was a meeting away from prying eyes.

* * *

"So, let me get this straight Cartwright. You want me running around like some modern James Bond killing people, but in the deal I get my own starship and can do whatever I want between missions?"

"Well, I don't know who this Bond person is, but that's essentially correct." Admiral Cartwright (I didn't learn his name until my third month) decided not to point out that I missed his rank. "You've been here nine months, and right now you are the only zero left." A zero, I learned earlier, was a person who had no personnel record in any database anywhere, and could be whomever they wanted.

"I was told that the full training I selected would take 14 months. I'm only half way through."

"Well, that's because YOU decided to take on the full engineering package, the full starship handling and weapons package, and all those other skills that you don't really need as a Section 31 operative!"

"Listen, If you want me to be traveling alone in a tin can, I want to be able to feel, know, fix, and heal every square inch of that ship. And any other that I may need to get my hands on." I was hoping that he didn't quite get that last point.

"How ironic. The last time you were in space you really were in a tin can."

"Yeah, but I was dead then. Now that I'm alive again and have a good century ahead of me I tend to be a little more cautious, if you don't mind." I retorted. I still didn't like him, even after all this time. "So what's the rush now?"

"We have an emergency. We need somebody eliminated immediately. We have a narrow window of opportunity - 6 weeks to be exact. If we don't strike now, we may never get another chance. This person is currently on a Federation built starship, the only place he could be to get a shot at him. Once he leaves his own security forces would make this mission impossible." The admiral was all serious now.

"Why don't you just blow up the ship? You've done it before. I've been through the records during my training you know." I had the feeling I wasn't being told everything. Maybe it's my 21st century paranoia coming back.

"Because that would take too many witnesses, or take too long to rig up as an accident and you know it!" Cartwright was starting to get angry. He regained his composure. "Listen. I'll make a deal with you. You take out the _7__th__ Sister_ now and we install an auto-teacher right in the sickbay, right beside the auto-doc. That way you can finish all your training on the road, as it were, and at your own leisure. We'll include any other training courses you want. Installation can be completed tonight and you can leave tomorrow." There was a sense of finality in Cartwright's voice.

"Yes sir. Departure tomorrow. Got it." I almost gave him a sarcastic salute but thought better of it.

"That's the spirit, so you accept. Good luck with your mission Commander. Your briefing is already downloaded into your ship's computer." With that, admiral Cartwright left me alone in my quarters. Like I ever was in a position to say no. A few hours later I was outfitted with a Starfleet uniform, Commander's rank, various sets of civilian clothes, several fake identities, and several numbered Orion accounts. Everything one needed to pass as a small merchant captain. I spend the last night on the ground in relative quiet, but sleep didn't come easily.

I was up before local dawn, checking over my ship. The _7__th__ Sister_, as I named her, is a modified _Mission_ class courier. Outwardly, she looked like the other entire _Mission_ class couriers and civilian freighters. Even the paint job gave it a "lived in" look. Opening up the airlock the well-lit interior was familiar to me. I had checked out on the type 3 months ago and took the _`Sister_ out on her shakedown cruise 5 weeks ago. Even then it took until 3 days ago to work all the bugs out. At first glance the interior was that of your typical tramp freighter. The only thing that betrayed her special nature was the newness and spotlessness of it. _Give me a week and I'll fix that_, I thought as I went through the checkout process. The interior was well designed. The airlock entered deck one in the forward section just after the bridge. The central corridor led aft to the turbo lift. Heading down this corridor led to the first set of doors. I went through the left set, entering the VIP quarters (which I had taken over), and unpacking my belongings. Back out and crossing the corridor, I entered the ships small sickbay, a small room with 3 standard beds and a larger one containing the auto-doc. As promised, an auto-teacher was wired into one of the extra beds. I checked out the training software, confirming that my complete selection was uploaded. Looking at the aft bulkhead brought a smirk to my face. Behind the wall was what was left of the auxiliary cargo bay. Not that you could get to it, or even know it was there. It was so well shielded; even the entire base's scanner suite couldn't detect it, at point blank range no less. But that was just the first of this ship's secrets. I continued aft as I completed my Deck One check. Walking by the secret room's secret entrance, I checked the control panel. Touch one precise combination of controls and "open sesame." Of course you also needed my precise DNA to make it work, and being a zero meant that nobody had that sequence in their database. Check on the personnel transporter – all systems in the green. A quick dogleg across the corridor to the cargo transporter and all is well here. A quick look around brought another smile to my face. The arrangement of this room with an included auxiliary cargo bay meant that nobody would even realize there is space missing, even if they were right next to it. It does make for a little cramped cargo handling, if I was planning some. To get to the aft half of the first deck from here I have three choices. Take the ramp down into the secondary cargo bay, or back out to the main corridor and use either the stairs or turbo lift. The aft cargo spaces are 5 meters tall compared to the three of a standard deck. All that's left is the main cargo bay, the largest single room in the ship. The first thing to check here are the 2 shuttlecraft parked behind the rear cargo lock. To complete the illusion of a tramp freighter both are stock and well used shuttles. In fact they are a random pair of older in-use shuttles from the base. A standard S-3 shuttle and the small 2 seat shutlepod.

Ok, time to check upstairs. Three important things are on my list. The fuel tanks, the life support systems and the tissue culture vats. As a small ship this one carries two. One for vegetable matter, known as the "algae vat" and a small poultry based meat protein vat, actually a luxury on a ship this size. It's not as bad as it sounds – three centuries of food synthesis has got the flavors and needed nutrients down pat. The computer can even adjust the energy content as needed. The crews' quarters remain dark and quiet. As the "lone crusader", I wouldn't need them anyway. I headed up to deck three. Here no attempt has been made to hide the modifications. The gen-6 warp drive and the augmented impulse drive make for a cramped engine room. Even the super-secret shield generators are on open display – there is simply no room to hide them. The rest of the modifications aren't really hidden either. They are just located in the machinery sections of the ship, which I needed to check next. So into the Jeffries tubes I go. I worked my way down head first beside the huge plasma conduits leading to the warp engine nacelles, checking the structural integrity as I went. Then it was forward to the phaser banks (how they fit two mid sized units into a space meant for a single defensive phaser still amazes me. They didn't even take too many shortcuts! Back up and check the port side. By the time I was done I was sweating profusely. It's hot and cramped in there! One last check before we lift off, my other secret weapon. Hidden under deck one is a photon torpedo launcher, based on the photon missile tubes of the _Thunderbolt_ fighter. But in this case they are a pair of full size FP-5's, each fed by a 6-round revolver type magazine. The plasma conduits could only power one at a time, and you were limited to 12 rounds _period_, but no other ship in its size class had anywhere near that kind of firepower. You know, with a small band of loyal ruffians the _7__th__ Sister_ would make a really good privateer...

I took the ship straight up through the clear atmosphere and directly into deep space, not bothering to stop in an orbit. Soon as I cleared the atmosphere I cranked up the impulse drive and headed straight for the warp wall. I didn't bother contacting space control, leaving them to route traffic around my flight path. Amazing what a Section 31 transponder can do. I wasn't waiting around. I cranked her up to impulse 8.5, red-lining the engines. It's time to check the engineering board and just see what those puppies can do. The engines weren't even breaking a sweat. 33% reserve power available at maximum speed. I'd reach the warp wall in less than 15 minutes. Better heat up the warp drive.

Starships come with three propulsion systems. Sublight thrusters are for maneuvering in or near planetary orbit. The first faster-than-light (FTL) drive that a starship is equipped with is the impulse drive. Powered by a fusion reactor burning either hydrogen or boron, this drive is capable of speeds of about 2c to 50c, known as Impulse 1 to Impulse 8.5, from slowest to fastest. Going faster than that eluded the scientists of many races. It turns out that in order to go faster you don't just have to bend space, you have to completely fold it back on itself, creating a little "pocket universe" that you actually travel in. This requires at least an anti-matter reactor providing plasma of an energy density high enough to power linked series gravity coils, usually carried outside the main hull of the ship. A warp drive then takes up a considerable amount of the volume of a starship. At least the fuel is compact and powerful.

A beep from the navigation console told me that we crossed the warp wall. In the solar system this wall occurs 18 astronomical units from the Sun, near the planet Saturn. With this base around such a large star, you have to go a bit further. I checked the download, the ship I'm looking for, the _Marsshine_, was about 4 weeks away at warp 8. Intercept course plotted, and with warp engines engaged, the external view turned to star streaks. Now just what to do in the next 29.4 days?

The first thing was to go to my "VIP" quarters and get out my toys. Section 31 tricorders have quite a few bonus features that the regular series ones miss. It's time to sweep the ship for bugs, bombs, and booby traps. One can never be too paranoid as a super spy! I swept the ship from the cargo hold forward, and sure enough, I started finding things that weren't supposed to be there. Passing through deck two I picked up a pair of hand phasers from the armory. Both were Marfak "Sting" models, my favorite silver sleek model. Isn't it nice when you can outfit your own ship with an unlimited budget? By the time I swept through engineering, I had amassed quite a pile of foreign objects, and if I thought that the Jeffries tubes were hot before, now with the engines running the accessible places were saunas. The now inaccessible places would just vaporize you. After a cool-off I returned to look at the tall pile of miscellaneous devices. Most of them were probably innocuous, like lost tools in the construction and fitting out stage, but as I opened the outer airlock and watched the pile disappear, I promised myself I won't trust _anything_ with an energy signature and that's not on my approved blueprints. There's a reason I took all those engineering and computer courses. I even took an engineering course on the auto-teacher itself! Job two: back to that machine. A few hours of cross wiring and a bit of new programming, and my auto-teacher was wired into both the ships main and engineering computers. I now had an alternate way of communicating with my ship, and I would either be able to check the computer code at an inhuman pace, or I just set myself up for a brain-fry. I think I'll wait until tomorrow to try that out. First thing is to absorb my entire mission briefing the easy way.

* * *

"Commander's personal log: Stardate 11701.2. It's been 26 days since departure, and I'm still steaming. I've decided to divert to neutral port of Gamma Eldebron. If I don't get some answers there I just might not be completing this mission after all. Guess I'm not cut out to be a hired killer after all."

I was pissed. _Really pissed_. I felt betrayed and right now I trust no one. It took me 16 days to sort out my computer problems. Parsing code with the auto-teacher was easy. Re-writing it still had to be done the old fashioned way. And with millions of code lines both in the mainframe and the engineering computer, running a starship – even a small one – by yourself can get really tedious. 18-hour days half spent reading code and the other half reprogramming. I almost screwed up the warp drive permanently. Of the 304 logic bombs, only 8 were really lethal, and I'm now pretty sure every _Mission_ class has a good 170 or so code errors in it from the factory! It's those 8 that ticked me off including a method to remote control detonate the ships' engines from a subspace signal. The rest of the time was a bit more leisurely researching everything I can about my target. At this point in time I have found absolutely no reason why anyone wants him dead.

Gamma Eldebron is what is known as a Freeport. Out on the rim and unbeholden to any Power, this was the place that drew many elements of society's underside. From pirates and privateers, to legitimate scouts and prospectors, Gamma Eldebron provided for neutral and safe ground for RRRR (that's rest, recreation, re-supply and repair) and most importantly – information. The only full-scale independent subspace relay in the sector is located there. If I couldn't find what I was looking for there, it probably doesn't exist.

A few hours later and _SS Pleiades_ made landing under the direction of local space control. Her owner-master, Andrew Sandor, hired scout of the Deneva Mining Corporation, exited the ship, dressed in his best "_Indiana Jones_" outfit.

The first thing was checking my associated DMC account. No problem there. Deneva Mining seems to have a lot of money it doesn't know about courtesy of Section 31. Arranging for re-supply and an overnight stay in a local hotel was the easy part. Arranging for this afternoon's visit was a little harder. Just what did an independent scout need with that much subspace bandwidth anyway? At least this was the right place to do it. People don't ask too many questions on Gamma Eldebron.

I didn't get much sleep that night. The first half was cruising the bars and playing the part of a lonely scout looking for a good time, and the second half was having a really good time. Then it was get up, check the ship's new supplies, pay the port master, set up a departure time, and leave. As the Gamma Eldebron system left the rear scanners and the ship slipped into warp, I had come no closer to the information I needed. As far as I'm concerned my target was as enigmatic as his dossier, which read:

Name: Amek (no last name)

Race: Psychon

Home Planet: New Psychonia

Physical description: This section gives everything _but_ his DNA pattern.

Brief History: Section is blank!

Threat Type: Arms dealer and terrorist

An arms dealer and terrorist? There was absolutely _NO_ evidence of this! All of my external data point to this guy being a rich merchant solely because of his home planet's insular nature. Hell he only deals with the Orions when he absolutely has to. Has he dealt arms? Sure, but less than most other legitimate arms dealers. His biggest customer is Starfleet itself. The only thing left that came to mind is to find out right from the source. That means completing the mission after all.

The next order of business: how to get on board a privately chartered starship? That's where those new supplies from the Gamma Eldebron system came in...

* * *

"Captain, that's definitely a distress call! It's right on our doorstep too. Bearing 312 mark 44, less than 1 parsec away." The _Marsshine's _navigator reported to her captain.

"And I suppose we are the only other transponder in the region?" Captain Mavis asked.

"Correct sir."

"Ok, Sheila, take us in. Let's see who's in trouble way out here on the rim." Mavis then turned around to face his comm. officer. "Ben, tell our guests we have to divert for a rescue, and if they ask why that we are obligated under regulations." Swinging back around, "and Sheila, be careful."

The _Marsshine _swung into an intercept trajectory and it wasn't long before another ship appeared on her scanners.

"Scanners indicate one small starship, approx 30 kilotons." The science officer informed the captain. "Configuration makes it a _Mission_ class."

"Any life signs?" the captain asked.

"One, moderately strong. Maybe unconscious." The science officer replied. "Visual in one minute."

"On screen when available." It didn't take long for the image of another ship to appear on the view screen. Indeed, it was a _Mission_ class ship. The upper hull showed a scar of an impact, while a cable extending out of the cargo bay revealed that the ship was towing something ...

A quick scan later: "Definitely one life sign – unconscious. It appears that the life support system is off for some reason. The collision also tore off whatever was being towed by that ship. The shields are down, and the main power signature is coming from her impulse engine. Transponder strip says it's the _SS Pleiades_ out of Deneva. The library computer confirms that."

"All right, this is what we'll do. Lets beam the occupant directly to sickbay, and lets bring that ship into our hangar. Maybe will still be able to get a salvage claim after all." The captain ordered. After a flurry of activity, the shop was brought aboard and the "victim" was treated for carbon dioxide poisoning in the liner's sickbay. The ship was left alone in the vast shuttle bay as the reactor, while hot, posed no threat to the larger ship.

* * *

I awoke in a sickbay much larger than my own. A civilian doctor was leaning over me. "You're lucky to be alive, you know. You could have died of CO2 poisoning," he told me.

"What about my sensor array?" I asked.

"It's lost. I don't think you will be able to recover it. Is that what you were towing behind your ship?" he asked.

"Yes. After the minor asteroid impact, I started a grid search for my array. They're not cheap you know, but during the search I find myself awakening here." I told him.

"Well, it looks like you were concentrating on your precious array and not on your ship, because the impact also knocked out your life support. If we hadn't come along, you probably would have died of asphyxiation." I tried to put on my 'embarrassed look'. "Our captain will be here shortly. He will have a few questions for you."

The conservation with the ships captain was quite pleasurable. I explained who I was and what I was doing (prospecting for Deneva Mining) and that I have an expense account with the company, so I could pay for any inconvenience I caused, as well as for any help in repairing my ship. When the doctor said it was OK, Andrew Sandor left the sickbay to return to his ship to see what repairs would be needed. The conversation did cover the wrist monitor, which triggered the automated distress call in the first place. I received kudos for at least being that prepared.

I was given a stateroom well away from the other guests. As expected, the captain is willing to let me stay to repair my ship, but not interfere with his passengers. I had other plans. Upon returning to my ship, I picked up a few toys. Some of them resembled mechanical spiders. After leaving my ship and heading towards their engineering deck, I accidentally dropped those mechanical spiders on the deck. They promptly scattered in all directions. I reached the ships chief engineer; a stout man named Alice, and asked him if they could fabricate a special plasma conduit, claiming the original was split by the impact. After talking a little shop with him it turned out that the fabrication job would be easy. The "replacement" life support power supply would be ready tomorrow, and I would be on my way. After paying for the rescue and help of course. It's all according to regulations you know.

Six hours later, in my guest quarters, I was downloading the spider data into my special tricorder. It turns out that Amek has minimal security on this ship. A single bodyguard, and the standard ships defenses, only proof against intrusions of privacy, are his only "shields". I set my other toys up for a meeting. Defeating the ships security was a joke for a Section 31 operative. This truly _was_ a civilian ship! I even managed to create a back door into the security files so the internal scanners did not record my whereabouts.

* * *

"Andrew Sandor to see you sir," Ameks' bodyguard announced.

"Who?"

"Andrew Sandor sir. He is on the list, sir."

"Very well. Send him in." Amek replied.

I walked in, right past all the security protocols this ship had to offer. Confronting me was this person – humanoid, 1.9 meters tall, not exactly human. His facial features told me that he indeed was a Psychon, approximately 45 years old. I had met my target. Now why did I feel that I was the bad guy here? He looked up from his desk, and asked, "How can I help you?"

I answered him plainly: "I'm here to kill you." With that, I pointed a phaser at him and pressed the firing stud.

* * *

I was in free space falling between the dimensions at warp 7. My ship was easily repaired, since there was nothing wrong with it in the first place. The life support was working just fine, and when the starliner approached, I simply injected myself with extra carbon dioxide to simulate CO2 poisoning. There was no towed array to be found, for I bought a few kilometers of tow and communication cable to make it look as if I lost a sensor array. The only addition to my ship now is an extra person sleeping off a phaser's heavy stun hit in the secret compartment. At least that part of this operation went without a hitch. Civilian space liners don't have any real computer security. It didn't take much for me to upload a virus that triggered the moment the internal sensors detected the phaser energy. Then the virus shut down all power throughout the ship and ordered a reboot of the engineering computer. In the few moments of pitch-blackness and weightlessness, I floated over to my victim and pressed a button on my wrist sensor. At that moment my ship sprang to life, beaming the two of us aboard. I tucked Amek into a cot in the secret compartment and returned to my quarters on the _Marsshine_. When the alarm rose the next morning about the missing VIP, I readily allowed the search of the "_SS Pleiades_" since I of all people had nothing to hide. After they scoured the ship they secured the hangar, in preparation for a forward search. I even got an apology for crashing to the floor in my quarters "when our proud ship suffered a small glitch". Two guards were left by the shutlebay, to make sure the only person who left that way was yours truly, after I received my replacement part, and some credits changed hands. I was gone within the hour.

Amek finally came to. "Why am I still alive?"

"Because I need some answers." I told him. "Your continued well-being depends on the answers that I get."

Fear crept into his voice. "But I haven't done anything wrong! I don't even know you!"

"Then why does Section 31 want you dead?"

"Who's this 'Section 31'? Is it Federation? You sound like the Federation. The only dealing I had with the federation was over 10 years ago when I testified at this Starfleet officer's trial." He managed to get out.

"A trial? What trial?"

"You should know. It made all the news holos. Especially the super deal Commodore Cartwright made to wiggle out of most of it." He stated.

Finally some pieces were falling into place. This mission might not even be sanctioned. I might be running a personal vendetta!

"OK, tell you what. Assume that I've been living under a rock for the past century, and I missed all the fun of this trial. Start from the beginning and tell me all about it." There was no point in telling him that I was dead at the time. It took some time but the jist if it was that then Commodore Cartwright and a cabal of flag officers were skimming armaments off of production runs and equipping rebel armies – overthrowing local planetary governments. Apparently someone at that time tried to take out the witnesses, but Amek survived. It was his testimony and proof that brought in the convictions. However, good 'ol Cartwright managed to make a deal. He spent 2 years in a penal colony, after which his rank was reinstated and he went to work for a new division of Starfleet. At that point Amek stayed the hell out of Federation space until now. "So why did you come back?" I finally asked.

"Well, actually I hired the ship to make sure the route was outside of Federation territory," he corrected. "I was meeting with some merchants in order to get in supplies and engineers to New Psychonia. Our sister planet has an orbital shipyard which have been dormant for decades." I was recalling the planetary system in my head and that did jive with my memory. Amek went on, "With a working shipyard we will be able to negotiate favorable terms on entering the Rim Worlds Confederacy." Now there's a problem. The "Rim Runners" already having 2 or 3 shipyards, could always use a 4th. But that doesn't make the criteria for a Section 31 sanction. That only leaves Cartwright's vendetta. "Listen, I am fairly wealthy. I could pay a ransom –"

"Save your money, I'm not interested. I cut him off.

"But ... what will you do with me?" He asked.

"Take you home. To New Psychonia" I replied.

"If you are going to do that, could at least you take me back to the _Marsshine_?"

"Not if you intend to live." I told him. "I'll bet dollars to donuts that there is another assassin waiting in the wings, and if you go back you'll get yourself killed, and maybe everyone else aboard that ship."

"I don't know what those things are but if you're that sure, they might be waiting for me on the way home too."

"Yeah, but that's my problem. Look, I got you into this mess for all the wrong reasons. Sorry about that. But let me set you up in some nice quarters, and let me take you home." Half an hour later Amek was settling in the former captain's quarters on deck 2, while I plotted a course to New Psychonia. I kicked in warp 10 and off we went, in almost a straight line to his home planet. Maybe we could beat any competition there, as long as the engines held out.

* * *

Amek awoke to the sounds of silence. The ship it seemed was not running on warp drive. Did something happen? Then he realized that the impulse engines were off as well. He dressed quickly and left his cabin. Walking past the mess hall he noticed coffee and bagels were set up, the typical breakfast aboard this ship. Stephen's up, he thought. Grabbing a bagel and coffee he thought about the contrast that make up humans – the harshness of coffee, and the softness of bread. Better check on the bridge. That's where he'll be.

The bridge door chimed. I pressed a stud on the control panel opening it. I said "enter." Amek walked in. With only the two of us we got to know each other well. He found out just why I was "hiding under a rock" these past years, and I learned a lot about the Psychon culture. The species hailed from their home world Psychon. A resource rich planet, Psychon had a peaceful and happy culture. But most Psychons left the planet when out-of-control volcanic activities made its surface begin to erupt and boil. Ships were built, and the Psychons left their home planet forever. Many traveled to the galactic rim and settled on the planet they dubbed New Psychonia. Also a resource rich planet, the Psychons idyllic culture continued to flourish. I was even offered a home there if I decided to settle down.

"I noticed the engines are down" he stated.

"Yep. I'm running silent at sub-light speed. I've rigged the sensors into a time lapse interferometer."

"And that is?" He queried.

"A method of making my scanners much more powerful than they already are. Imagine having a scanner a few astronomical units wide." I explained.

"Impossible! Nobody can build an array that big!"

"Exactly. So we have to cheat. My people have known this method for over 6 centuries. We take a sensor reading. Then drift half an "AU", then take another, drift, scan, drift you get the picture. After that the computer time corrects all the readings, Fourier transforms them together, and we have a super high-resolution sensor image. The computer will be done in 27 minutes." I replied.

"So where are we?" He asked.

"About half a parsec away from New Psyconia, on a straight line approach between RC-11331 and Sketola."

"But ... that's on an oblique line to my home. We'll miss by miles!" He said proudly, handing me back one of my own idioms.

"That's not the point. I filed a flight plan from RC-11331 to Sketola as a monarch class traveling at warp 4. That way I could mask my warp 10 signature as a monarch and nobody would be the wiser. I just had a 'break down' as I was passing New Psychonia. Not unusual for a tramp freighter. Note the miss distance is just far enough to make positive identification of this ship impossible." I explained. "Now we wait for the computer."

Right on time the computer beeped, and I put up a detailed image of the New Psyconia system on the main viewer. Everything we expected to be there was.

"Well, It looks like you beat them. Can I go home now?" Amek asked.

"No, you can't. See that?" I pointed to a really small sensor blip at the edge of the system.

"Now I do. What is that?" He asked.

"A cloaked ship." I answered.

"But ... But ... Starfleet has no cloaked ships." He stammered. "Surely that's a scanner error."

"Afraid not. Just because Starfleet hasn't got any cloaked ships, it doesn't mean the Federation hasn't got any. Way back about Stardate 5030, the Federation got a hold of a second generation Romulan cloaking device. And just because the treaty of Algeron prevents Starfleet from equipping their ships, it doesn't mean that the Federation has no cloaked ships." I explained.

"So what do you think that is?" He asked.

"I'll tell you exactly what that is. It's a cloaked _Specter_ class destroyer. Lying doggo just inside the hyper limit." I told him.

"So we can avoid it, right?"

"Don't think so. He's right in line to intercept almost all approaches to New Psychonia form the federation side. The small hyper limit means he can easily move to intercept a ship coming in from the other side of the system. If I wasn't looking for him we could have rolled right over them and not noticed until it was too late. We're going to have to find another way in." I reported.

"Just how powerful is that ship?" Amek asked.

"Very. She sports standard destroyer armament, about 8 or so phasers in at least 4 banks and she has both fore and aft torpedoes. About 4 times my armament."

Amek's jaw dropped. "You have that much firepower in this little ship?"

"Oops. That's supposed to be a secret. Yeah, but that's not all. My shields are almost as good as theirs. This little ship is quite the powerhouse for its size, but we still need an edge."

"And where are you going to find this 'edge'?" Amek asked, somewhat dejectedly.

"In dreamy-time. I'll explain later. First we need to make like a _Monarch_ who just fixed her warp drive glitch and is proceeding on to Sketola." I stated.

A few minutes later, we were underway at warp 4, while expending enough energy for warp 11. The inefficiency could easily be a _Monarch's _jury-rigged repair. As soon as we were out of sensor range we put about the helm on a different trajectory while I searched through the training programs for the auto-teacher.

"Found it." I told Amek. "Give me a few hours to absorb the data. You're going to be on your own for dinner I'm afraid."

"That's OK." He replied. "Should I wait up?"

"No. Get a good night's sleep, and I should have the solution by tomorrow morning." It was going to be a long and dreamy night for me as I absorbed the auto-teacher's information.

* * *

We were screaming into New Psychonia at warp 9, from the Federation side. At this speed as soon as we crashed over the hyper limit, the _Spectre _should be all over us. I had other plans however. As soon as we were about to hit the warp wall, as it is colloquially known, I slammed the ship into impulse speeds, avoiding the sensor delay of crossing the hyper limit. Next, I ran a full spread of phaser fire and a series of torpedo launches, set on proximity blast. Since I already had pegged the _Specter's _cloaking signature, I actually knew exactly where she was. I also knew that while cloaked she was essentially running with shields down, as the shield generators are required to run the cloak. As I blasted by the crippled _Specter _at maximum impulse, I put one parting shot into her engineering section as I headed in-system. By the time she recovered, I would be landing on New Psychonia. Not bad for taking on a ship 5 times my size. Captain Kirk would be proud!

* * *

I approached Space control, and they basically wanted nothing to do with me until told them who my passenger was. After that they were all smiles and gratitude. Apparently the news of the disappearance on the _Marsshine_ had already reached the system. And inquiring minds wanted to know...

We both received a hero's welcome, after Amek told his story, including the 'epic space battle' between the _7__th__ Sister_ and the _Spectre_ destroyer at the edge of the system, and I became the "hero of the hour" as far as the Psychons were concerned. There would be repercussions. It didn't take much to realize that I would be a big target, and offers of asylum started to pour in. At this point I decided to take them up on their offer. Especially when Amek formally offered his resources at my disposal.

It was this time in which I decided I no longer work for Section 31. And I am going to keep the ship, and the numbered accounts, which I quickly shifted to other Orion numbered accounts.

For the first time in a long time I was free. I was my own man. I even had a home, here in a small town on New Psychonia. With a little land to myself, a ship I could call my own, and a rich friend I could call upon for help, I was finally ready to greet this universe.


	2. Send Me an Angel

**2: SEND ME AN ANGEL**

It's been 2 years since I left section 31. As expected, they tried to take me out. Four times. Eventually we came to an uneasy truce – they would stop trying to kill me, and I would stop killing their agents. Not like they were paying attention to who I was, or what I knew, mind you, they just started throwing assassins at me. The first one was a moron. Ok, so he got the drop on me and used my favorite motto: 'If you want it dead, lob a torpedo'. Unfortunately for him he should have paid attention to those engineering files. I would have loved to see the look on his face when his engines overloaded. Apparently all the _Mission_ type ships in service of Section 31 have the same back door logic bombs. He lasted all of 30 seconds until he became an expanding ball of plasma. The second and third agents were a little more difficult. They were probably my siblings on Project _Icarus_. If they took the time to study their notes they would have realized that all the 'ninja stuff' was largely negated by a Section 31 tricorder. The last group was the hardest – an entire _Specter_ class destroyer. It might have been the same one that was at New Psychonia, but in any case I sent it straight to hell with a prefix code command shutting down main systems. Two torpedoes into its mid-ships convinced them that I wasn't worth the trouble.

I don't think Admiral Cartwright knew just what he gave me with the auto-teacher. I had the prefix codes and back doors to _**all**_ of Section 31's ships, unless they changed them. They should have by now. Also, Admiral Cartwright got himself publicly busted for his involvement in the Khitomer affair and is going to spend the rest of his 'retirement' in a penal colony. Now I was truly my own person, and I chose my missions and jobs as I saw fit. How ironic that I found myself working again for Section 31.

But at least it was on my terms. I would do odd jobs for Section 31, and retain Section 31 privileges. No assassinations. My choice of missions and the only payment from the Section was an occasional re-supply of torpedoes. It worked out for everybody. I just didn't realize how much stuff section 31 investigated to see if it warranted sending out agents to deal with. I still had all that money in the numbered accounts, as well as a stash of latinum hidden in my secret room. I had it made. I was rich enough to keep my ship going indefinitely, and my special needs – type 5 torpedoes, were supplied for odd jobs. I was set. Then I was truly surprised by the next mission that came up on the galactic net. There was this planet, which showed, briefly, strange gravitational anomalies, which have since ended. The planet was close to the Romulan border, which peaked Section 31's curiosity, and thus they wanted to investigate. The only "agent" they had nearby was I. "Free torpedoes." They claimed, and since I wasn't busy doing anything else, I thought 'why not'. My ship was fully supplied, so I figured an extra supply of torpedoes would set me up for quite some time. All I had to do was go to this planet and perform some scans. Report back with anything that I found, and collect a set of torps. What could be easier?

Of course if you read between the lines the message was: "get there before the Romulans do", just in case. Just the fact that monster gravitational waves emanated from the planet was intriguing enough. Something important happened here, and nobody knows what. Hopefully, I would get there in time to see what had transpired in the last month.

I dropped out of warp around the system. Running scans, this nameless system had a single star, of type F8. 6 large planets orbited the star; two were terrestrial type, with the second one class M. That's where I headed first, putting my little ship into standard orbit, and beginning my sensor sweep. The first thing that came to mind was just how odd the planet was. Lots of plant life, but apparently no animal life. Not even insects! _Great place for a camping trip_, I thought. The scan completed with 3 or 4 anomalies. That got my interest. There was a power source on the planets southern hemisphere! Unfortunately the other anomalies were all clustered together in the northern hemisphere, almost exactly on the opposite side of the planet. The power source wasn't going anywhere - I headed into the planet's atmosphere over the northern continent. The scans seemed to be intermittent there.

I landed the ship in a vast plain. I stepped out of the airlock – into a pool of dried blood. No wonder the readings were intermittent. Whatever happened here, I thought, I missed it. Apparently an epic battle was fought, and the still rotting remains littered the battlefield. I was glad for the full spectrum antibacterial injection I received as a field agent: Bacteria were alive and well on this planet! Other than rotting body parts, there was no witness to the events that transpired now 52 days ago, according to my tricorder. Were they the cause of the gravitational anomalies, or their victims? Much of the weapons were medieval looking, yet there were distinct hits from energy weapons. There was no absolute answer. They all had taken their secrets to their graves. This is going to be a quick mission, I thought to myself as I boarded the _'Sister_. The next sensor signature was less than 100 km to the southwest, and I would reach my next stop in less than ½ an hour.

* * *

A _Mission _class courier does not pass through an atmosphere silently. Even at subsonic speeds, the scream of the thrusters makes it sound like a jet going by. And its size, though small for a starship, made it easily track-able for some distance. A lone figure watched the ship fly past. When the pyramidal hull landed some kilometers away, that figure took to the air, flying in the direction that the ship went.

* * *

The plains had given way to forest, and the ship landed in a clearing, with its nose resting on a hillock by the edge of the forest. I stepped out into fresh air again, and crossed to the other side of the clearing, where some ancient ruins sat. A round structure, of intricately carved stone, used to sit here. From the sloping of what remained of the walls, the building was originally cone or dome shaped. A passage into the ground had caved in long ago. My tricorder indicated that the symbols on the remains were _Iconian_. But that made absolutely no sense. It only muddied the waters with respect to those gravitational anomalies. The Iconians are a myth! Known as the "demons of air and darkness," the Iconians could appear on any planet – without the use of starships or any other apparent technology. According to some ancient texts, they were supposedly destroyed about 200 000 years ago, if they existed at all. Could there still be Iconians? And what of the power source, located exactly on the opposite side of the planet as these ruins. I was thinking that unless I'm going into the excavating business that's where I'm headed next when my tricorder beeped.

I looked at it. Proximity Alarm. Proximity alarm! There is no animal life on this planet! Yet my tricorder says that a large flying animal is headed this way and will be here in about 2 minutes. All right, I'll just deal with this and be on with my mission. I pulled out my handy phaser, set the sighting laser for maximum distance and set it on 'heavy stun'. With my tricorder I knew the creature should be clearing my ship and coming into visual just ... about ... _now_. I fired three times. The first two shots were right on target. But with the second shot the creature lurched to the left making the third shot miss. But that didn't matter. The creature fell out of the sky and bounced off the top of the _'Sister_ with a hideous crunch, then landed about half way between me and the ship, also with a hideous crunch. That's when I got my first look at _**her**_.

"Oh shit. I'm going straight to hell, aren't I," I muttered. I had just shot down an _angel_! She looked beautiful lying there, with 4 wings and long flowing red hair. THUNK! 2 meters in front of me lands this sword, with a large bronze hilt meant for a two-handed grip. It buried itself about halfway into the soft ground, and broke me out of my mesmerization. I walked over and picked up her limp form. She was surprisingly light for her size, about 60 kilos. Her left arm was obviously broken, and her wings were no longer symmetrical. I carried her into the _'Sister_, and entered the small sickbay, placing her on the auto-doc table. I started the auto-doc's trauma scan.

-BEEP- Manual intervention needed, I read on the auto-doc's screen. "Unknown Avian Species – Female, with 2 broken limbs; 1 forearm, 1 unknown. No concussion, no internal injuries. Manual advice needed on unknown limb." I clicked on the opposite wing on the display and picked 'Mirror this limb'. The auto-doc hummed for a minute and came back with –BEEP- Manual assistance needed. Then followed a string of recommendations about positioning the limbs so the auto-doc could commence repairs. "Repair time – 3 hours. Sedation time: 5 hours. Recommend light duty for following 72 hours. Commencing repairs." And that was it. I went outside and retrieved the sword that was stuck into the ground. It was of very fine craftsmanship, and of a tri-titanium alloy, which should be well beyond any medieval culture that would use swords as weapons. I put the sword in sickbay with the angel's armor, also made from tri-titanium. _Somebody_ had access to starship level technology to craft these. The auto-doc would keep her sedated until it was finished. In 3 hours we will find out just how good the auto-doc really is.

I returned to the ruins and spent the next 3 hours determining that there was absolutely no information to be found here. If there were any answers on this planet, the facility on the other side would furnish them, unless I planned on digging. I might just spend an extra day and do that. Time to check on my patient. I walked back into the ship and entered the sickbay. The auto-doc bed was empty. Then there was a flurry of white to my right, and then – BAM – I was flat on my back on the sickbay floor, with this two meter tall angel standing over me, with her right foot on my chest and her sword at my throat. She had managed to drop me with a single stroke, belying strength well beyond expectations. Maybe there was something to this ninja stuff after all...

"Who Are You? Where am I?" She asked.

"Well I'm Stephen Michael, and you are aboard the _7__th__ Sister_." I replied.

"Is that the flying ship? And what happened to me?

"Yes it is. As to what happened to you, um ... well ... I kind of shot you down." I answered sheepishly.

"You attacked me! Why shouldn't I just kill you now!" She roared.

"Well three reasons come to mind..." There was a pregnant pause.

"And they are?" She inquired.

"Well, ... number 1, I'm truly sorry about that. I didn't know who was inbound and I rather have this shoot first ask questions later policy, while I'm alone on some alien planet. Besides, it was only a stun blast – I wasn't expecting you to crash into my ship like that. I did fix the damage after all, you must admit. And secondly, if you do kill me and manage to get away, you will still be stuck on this ball of rock all alone. I'm pretty sure that you're not from around here and you need to get home." Another pregnant pause. I decided not to mention that the 'getting away' part consisted of outrunning a self-destruct when my wrist computer registered a zero pulse for a certain length of time.

"You said there was three reasons."

"Yeah about that. If you look down at your left foot, you'll notice that I have this phaser aimed at it. And unlike your sword, which I'm pretty sure that you'll have to take a back swing to lop my head off, this phaser is as effective when it's pointed at your toe as pointed at your head. So it seems that I actually have the drop on you from down here, even if it doesn't look like it." I explained.

"Very well." She said. And then she took that back swing. And I pressed the firing stud. Then, with a clatter she fell on top of me, her sword dropping to the deck. Now I expected to feel some contact shock from the phaser blast, but none came. I checked my phaser, and it was set on its usual setting of stun. That's why there was no contact shock, but she was out cold. Something was wrong here, she should be coming around by now, given her strength. So back into the auto-doc she went. Full scan this time...

When she came to this time around I was waiting patiently in a chair, her sword and armor parked in my armory. 4 hours had transpired before she awoke this time. The full scan had revealed some interesting facts about my guest. First of all she was tough – a shock that would kill a human or even a Klingon, she could shrug off. She had metabolized all the sedative and came to just after the surgery. Second she had actually fainted. She wasn't drawing back the sword at all! Apparently she is suffering from fatigue, thirst, and malnutrition simultaneously.

"What happened?" She asked.

"Actually, you fainted. Then I shot you. Again," I replied

"I wasn't going to kill you, you know." She retorted.

"Yes unfortunately I do know. And when was the last time you had a good meal, drink and sleep? I asked.

"I'm the Boros Archangel. I neither require food, water, or sleep." She replied.

"Well, I have a news flash for you. That may be true wherever you came from, but here that's not the case." I stated. "Take a look at this scan. See these organs here, here, and here? They're dormant. The auto-doc says that they receive power from an external source. I'll bet that's what you normally rely on for your life's energy. Here you must rely on your backup systems. That's why you have a digestive tract, you know." I tried to explain. It's true. She had a digestive tract, lungs, heart, most of the systems I associated with life, even if they weren't used all that often. Here, apparently they would be.

"No mana." She stated.

"What?"

"There's no mana here. Anywhere. That's why my sword won't alight. You wouldn't have gotten away with that so easy had I been in all my glory!"

"Tell you what. It's getting late. How about we have dinner about 8, and then we settle in for the night?" I avoided answering her statement.

Eventually she said "OK, but no flesh from animals! If I have to 'eat' it will be from plant life." She replied

Oh great, a _vegan_, I thought. What to prepare? I've got it, my special mac-and-cheese. It will have all the necessary protein, and will not have any meat or meat products in it in it. The cheese was synthetic anyway.

8 o'clock came and dinner was served. I made this as formal an occasion as I could. At least she appeared to appreciate the effort and thanked me. During dinner, she told me that she was dimensionally summoned here by a powerful being called a 'Planeswalker', who dragged her from her universe to fight in an epic battle (the remains of which I had already found). She was the only survivor of that battle. When the battle was over that Planeswalker told her lastly, "her way home was mapped out on this planet." That's when that being disappeared, Leaving this angel to her own devices. She had been stuck on this planet for 52 days without sleep or sustenance. Apparently she did pass out a few times, which I realized was probably due to fatigue. No human could run 52 days on empty! I also found out her name: Razia, Parun of the Boros (whatever that meant), and that she was a mana-verse angel, a physical, winged humanoid. After eating about half of her small plate, she tried to stand up, sat down again, then stood up.

"What did you just do to me?" Razia accused.

I burst out laughing. I couldn't help myself. When I calmed down, "Sorry about that, but I'm so used to eating for a living, I forgot it's your first meal that counts. The auto-doc rebalanced your electrolytes and blood sugars, but you now have to eat for sustenance. What you're doing right now is called 'digesting your food'! Blood is being diverted to your formerly unused digestive tract to extract the nutrients from your food. That's what's making you feel that way. And yes you should stop eating now. Let your body adjust to the changes slowly."

"I have _eaten_, before, on special occasions, such as the Guildpact Festival." She explained impatiently. Razia definitely didn't like being laughed at!

"Yes but not for effect. You ate for ceremonial reasons while getting your energy from elsewhere. 'Bet the food passed right through you."

"Well, yes. It did."

"Then you are going to have an unpleasant surprise in a few hours." Realization dawned on her face. "I think the next thing you should do is get a good night's sleep. It will probably take a while for you to attain proper sleep regulation too." I showed her to the unused captains' cabin, explained all of its features, bid her goodnight, and returned to my cabin.

Time to start a report. Just how was I going to explain that gravitational anomalies on an interplanetary scale were caused by two powerful beings, which had left for parts unknown? And who could possibly show up at any time. Then it hit me. _The Squire of Gothos_: Apparently "Trelane" was an adolescent of a powerful energy being. Like the brains of Triskelion, he could manipulate space-time as well. Perhaps they were the descendents of the Iconians: Two teenagers slugging it out on an old Iconian outpost? Section 31 is definitely not going to like this. This was a problem well beyond their ability to handle. The last thing I did before retiring for the night was to send off my report by subspace radio. "Captains log, Stardate 12528.1..."

* * *

Razia stepped out of the cabin mid morning. I guess she was really tired. She was still wearing the medical gown from yesterday.

"You know, I can fabricate up some clothing that will fit around your wings." I offered.

"Thank you, but I prefer my armor."

"Sure, but do you really want to be parading around in it? It's rather revealing and I do have a Y-chromosome, you know."

"For all its looks, that armor is quite magical ... Oh. Right. No mana. I see your point." Razia acquiesced. "What is that I'm smelling?"

"Coffee. _Real coffee_. Made from actual grown beans. Ground and roasted. Prepared properly, in a stainless steel percolator over a hot plate. The bagels, however, are synthetic. Have some breakfast." I beamed. It was one of the few luxuries worth paying for. At least there is a small plantation on Baker's World. I also get my other non-synthesized beverage there as well, real potato vodka.

"How many times a day should I eat?" Razia asked, looking over a bagel.

"Well most humans eat 3 large meals a day with some snacks thrown in. You may want to start with a larger number of smaller meals until you break in your digestive system." Razia pondered that, and then ate her breakfast in silence. When she finished there was yet more silence as we stared at each other.

"How long are you going to keep me prisoner?" Razia finally asked.

_That was unexpected!_ "Uhmn ... I'm not keeping you prisoner here! I was just trying to help! You helped me learn what happened here, and I merely wanted to help you out. I have another investigation on the other side of this planet and them I'm out of here." I managed to get out.

"Then if I'm not your prisoner, why can't I leave this ship? The door wouldn't open. I would like my possessions back and to go." Razia replied.

Realization dawned. "That's because you have to cycle an airlock door to get out, and I haven't shown you how. The inner door has to be closed airtight before the outer door will open. That way you can't accidentally open the ship up to a hard vacuum."

"Then can I get my things now?" Razia asked impatiently.

"Yes, if you wish." I replied. I led Razia to the small armory just aft of the captain's cabin. There was an impressive array of phaser firepower, as well as a few fusion and plasma grenade launchers. On the table was Razia's armor and sword. "I'll wait outside." I finished.

A few moments later Razia entered the corridor in all her original angelic splendor. I then led her back to the turbo lift. You'd be surprised just how full the elevator seemed with a 4-winged angel in it. Razia was thrown off when the lift moved horizontally and rotated 180 degrees. We stepped out into the cargo bay. I walked up to the larger shuttle that was stored there.

"What's that thing, and why are we in here?" Razia asked.

"That's a shuttle. Think of it as a miniature spare starship. And were here to get this." I responded, picking up a backpack from the shuttle. "This is one of the survival kits the shuttle carries in case of a crash. You might find this stuff useful." We walked forwards to the airlock while I explained what the devices were. First was an evaporative canteen, which could extract water from any atmosphere with humidity in it. An inflatable shelter came next. It even had a miniature airlock and a life support pack that would last about 1 person-month in total vacuum. A multi-tool, blanket, and other camping goods were explained. But food and water took up much of the bulk of the pack. "And finally we come to this." I held up a small box about the size of a small pack of cigarettes.

"And what's this?" Razia queried.

"It's a type-1 hand phaser. Older style. Here. Stick your finger on here and press this." The phaser emitted a beep when she did.

"What did that do?

"Take a look at the wall. See that red dot?" I answered with my own question.

"Yes."

"Good, that's your aiming sight. This button on top is the trigger. The other one was the safety. You have to turn off the safety to get the sighting laser. This wheel here is the power setting, and this last adjustment here is the beam width setting." I cycled the airlock doors, and the clearing spread out in front of us. "Aim at that tree."

Razia aimed and fired, hitting the small tree dead center. The tree appeared unaffected by the blast. "Nothing happened." Razia accused.

"That's because you can't stun a tree. See this setting here. That's medium stun. It's standard for knocking out a human for about 15 – 30 minutes. The next one up is heavy stun. On wide beam you can knock out a small group of people, and on narrow beam, it works on a larger or tougher creature."

"Like you did to me yesterday! Twice!"

"Yes." I replied shamefacedly, "The settings continue. The next two are heat 1 and 2, disrupt 1, 2, and 3, and disintegrate 1 and 2. Each setting generally consumes more power than the last. The higher up you go the faster you drain the power cell. There are spare cells in the pack, this phaser, the canteen and shelter all use the same type."

"Thank you. I will go now."

"If you change your mind and want my help, this is where I'll be for another day. Then I'm off to the other side of the planet. I doubt you could fly that far on your own."

"Goodbye then." With that, Razia took to wing, flying northeast, back the way she came.

I watched her fly out of sight, and returned to my ship. I pulled out a phaser rifle and my tricorder, and headed back to the ruins. I was going to do a little excavating, phaser style. Shovels are so 20th century. After blasting my way into the earth, I found out why there were only ruins here. The power plant apparently suffered an overload. Only the bottom of the housing was left, made of a phaser-resistant material. The blast had gone straight up, removing the top of the building, and destroying everything in its path. 200 millennia of rains filled up the hole with dirt, and the plant life reclaimed the site.

I was done here. Now for an evening among the stars, and tomorrow I'm gone. The ship was quiet once again. I set up a small campfire, synthesized a raw steak, and some spuds, and had an old-fashioned barbeque dinner. Then as night fell I grabbed a self-inflating sleeping bag and some cordage. I had an idea. I was going to have a 'kid attack'. I climbed up the aft service ladder to the top of the ship. I tied the sleeping bag to the aft running light and made a great little 'nest' or myself. I lay down and I watched the constellations reveal themselves one star at a time, just like the _Tragically Hip _song. There are mosquitoes in _Bobcaygeon_ – but not here! This was an insect-less world. Thoughts drifted back to some old movies. "You know they really are beautiful." I said to no one in particular, "I don't' look at them anymore" quoting _Men in Black_. I drifted off to sleep.

* * *

I woke up when the star rose over the horizon. It was a silent and peaceful morning. Too peaceful – There were no nature sounds, just the rustle of the breeze through the trees. I pulled the cord holding the sleeping bag, and down I slid like a toboggan. I sailed off the nose of the ship and landed on the hillock. That was fun. But the 'kid attack' was over. I hit the deflate button on the sleeping bag and watched it roll itself up. I headed back towards the airlock, but something was wrong. The alert bar was flashing. I cycled through the airlock, and ran to the bridge. The alert monitor on the navigation console was flashing. I checked the scanners. Sure enough, there was a ship in orbit. A Romulan scout ship from the scans. An older type, the ship is a S-3 "_Revastal_" class scout, and an odd choice of a vessel for this mission. I expected them to send the latest and best model. Perhaps the Romulans would claim that this is an old ship sold off to other parties. Otherwise its presence here _is_ an act of war, and that would give them an excuse to say, "It wasn't us!" The worrisome data was that this ship suddenly appeared already in orbit. That meant that they were equipped with a cloaking device. How long have they been here? And just what do they know?

Then I thought of Razia. That scout has a crew of about 15 – 20, and Romulans aren't known for their sympathy when interrogating someone. Even with a phaser 1 doubt she'd be able to hold her own. And when they figure out why an angel has a phaser they will be after me next. But how can I warn her without lifting off, and tipping the Romulans off that we are not together? My Section 31 tricorder has a scanning range of many kilometers, and picking out the only life form in the middle of an empty forest...

Back out of the airlock and down the ramp. Don't look up; you should never look up, I thought. But that's stupid. They should know that I could easily scan them while they sit in orbit un-cloaked. Better concentrate on my tricorder readings. Searching ... Scan complete. 1 life form found, range zero. _Range Zero_? _But the tricorder is programmed to exclude the operator_!

I turned around, and walked straight into Razia. How long she was standing right behind me, I couldn't tell. So I gave her a hug. "Don't look up. We're on candid camera." I whispered.

"I have no idea what that means but I'm not looking up. I have decided to take you up on your offer of help. I was worried when you ran inside earlier." Razia whispered back. That meant that she'd been here for over ½ an hour.

I continued to hug her. "That means there's another ship in orbit, a Romulan scout ship, and they are watching us. If they figure out who you are or what you may possibly know, they will try to interrogate you, and they won't be nice about it." I was still whispering. "Here's what we'll do. We'll go back onboard arm-in-arm, And then I need to whip you up a uniform and quick." So that's how we boarded the _7__th__ Sister_.

Once on board we could talk normally. "How many of these Romulans are on board that ship?" Razia asked.

"15 – 20, depending on the ship's sub-class and mission." I answered. "And before you ask, that ship is about 3 times the size of this one. Stand still." We were back in the sickbay, while I took her scanner readings. Then it was upstairs to the fabricator, programming it with the scan data, for one uniform, black, _SS Pleiades_ insignia.

"So what's next?"

"Now we wait for your new uniform to be made. It'll be about fifteen minutes. We might as well have another coffee." I mentioned while starting for the crew lounge. "Then we wait, and see if they decide to contact us. They might just decide to ignore us, and just watch what we do."

We didn't have to wait that long. Three coffees (I had 2), one uniform, and a half hour later the hail came in. We were on the bridge by then, in our matching uniforms. Well, OK, almost matching uniforms. Mine didn't have any wing sleeves! I crossed over to the communications panel and hit a button. "SS Pleiades, Andrew Sandor here." I hoped Razia didn't scowl at that.

A tall, gaunt, square shouldered Romulan commander filled the view screen. "Why are you here?" He demanded.

"Last time I checked this planet is in Federation space, and you commander, seem to be way off course." I retorted. While true the planet is inside the Federation's Treaty Exploration Zone, its closeness to the rim and Triangle Worlds meant that there was little Starfleet presence here. Was I pushing my Luck?

_Apparently not_. "We are private explorers too. We detected some weird gravitational fluxes and decided to investigate. If you care to check our transponder, you will find we are the _SS Researcher_ out of Freeloader. We don't work for the Romulan government. Our employer is much wealthier; Tali Lithan."

"Who's this Tali Lithan?" Razia asked.

Before the Romulan could answer, I replied, "Tali Lithan is the de facto owner of the planet Freeloader, part of the Orion Frontier Mercantile Association. And if these good folks are under his employ with a scout ship, that'd make them relic hunters."

"How very astute." The Romulan seemed to be glaring at me. "Answer me this: when we arrived yesterday, you were sleeping on the top of your ship. Why?"

"Because the two of us were cooped up in this ship for too long. I needed some fresh air, and my avian companion needed to spread her wings. Can't do that in this little ship you know. We are finished here and are about to head to the other side of the planet."

"I see." The Romulan replied. "You will find an intact Iconian building there. You won't be able to enter it, however. We tried. We are now sending a team to your location to look around, if you don't mind."

Well that explained what they were doing since they got there, and why the de-cloaked. They were dropping in anyway. "I got two slips of latinum here that says you have an extra case of Ale in your stores," I hinted. Two slips was a good price for Romulan Ale, but you could easily get 10 slips or 100 credits if you could smuggle it in to the heart of the Federation.

"Make it three and you've got a deal. Our supplies are running low."

"Sold. Bring it with you when you arrive. Are you still exploring the southern site?" I asked. I would have been easily talked up to 5 strips for a case of Ale. I was getting thirsty.

"No. We have given up on it."

"Then I claim rights to explore that site. If I find a way in," I demanded.

"Good Luck. You may have that site. On the condition that if my some miracle you gain entry, we reserve the right to take what you don't."

"Deal. I look forward to quenching my thirst," I signed off and shut down the comm. Panel.

"You LIED to them!" Razia accused.

"Yeah, and they were lying right back. It's bullshit that they're not working for their government. They're navy and don't hide it well. He didn't even flinch when I called him commander. And what the hell is a full commander doing on a small scout ship? They might even be taking Lithan's money, but their loyalty definitely lies elsewhere. Freeloader is just a convenient excuse for being caught in Federation space. The only advantage in accepting that excuse is that there is less shooting. Besides the lying is not over. Take a look at your own uniform."

Razia looked down, "_SS Pleiades_. You said this ship was called the _7__th__ Sister_? And you told me you were Stephen!"

"It is. And I am. Andrew Sandor and the Pleiades out of Deneva are just one of my alter egos." I explained. "When you're a zero it's quite easy to assume any identity. There are disadvantages, however." I decided not to explain what a zero was.

"What now?"

"I go out and buy some Romulan Ale, that's what." With that I stepped outside and greeted the Romulans who were already here. Hopefully they would assume my partner was manning the weapons console, 'just in case'. The brief meeting went without any problems. Latinum and Ale changed hands, and I returned to my ship. Entering the bridge and putting the case down on the command chair, I walked over to the engineering panel. "Time to go." I fired up the impulse reactors, returned to the navigation chair and engaged the thrusters. As soon as we lifted off I engaged the shields, on minimum. Just enough to scramble a transporter, if anyone would be foolish enough to try one. The course didn't matter as I was flying to the exact opposite side of the planet. The direction the ship was pointed would be fine. I decided to make it a sub-orbital flight with passive scanners running all the way. I might as well learn anything I can about that Romulan ship. What I found out was not reassuring. The scout had all the refits of her type and was further modified. It looked like she may be torpedo armed after all. That's not good, I thought to myself.

* * *

"Centurion report." Commander Relar of the Tal Shiar demanded of his subordinate.

"They are on a sub-orbital approach to the southern structure. They will arrive in 15 minutes. They are running with minimal shields, just enough to block internal scans," the centurion replied.

Or transporters, Relar thought. This one's shrewd or paranoid, and that will make my job a little harder. "That one had been here longer than we have. We will find out what he knows. Let me know when they give up and leave the planet." With that Relar left the scout's bridge.

Relar thought, soon, very soon, I will have my answers!

* * *

Two hours after landing, and entry into the structure really looked hopeless. The cone shaped building was intact, even after 200 millennia. The buildings structure radiated the energy signature, but blocked all scans, active and passive. I had even landed the ship right beside the structure and used the ships scanners at full power. All that told me is that the field passes through the stone at a depth of about 8 centimeters. That's where the readings on the stone's edges simply stop. There were no doorways or even signs of a doorway into the structure, just a smooth stone cone.

"Just what exactly did that being say to you about the way home? And I mean everything." I asked.

"He said that the map to my way home was on this planet, but the path is narrow and un-marked. That was it," Razia responded.

"Hmm, the path is narrow and un-marked. Let me think about that for a while." I pondered the riddle. Time to step back and take a look at this problem anew. Just what do we have in front of us?

The building was a stone cone, about 30 meters wide at the base, and about 25m tall, exactly the same diameter as the one in the northern hemisphere. This one was set into a gently rolling hill in what looked and felt like an African savannah, sans insects of course. If it were an identical structure, the walls would change to cylindrical just below the ground. The stone cylinder would continue into the ground for another 12 meters. It would have a flat bottom, and in the lowest level would sit the power source. Whatever that source was, it was running all by itself for at least 200 millennia! And it was powering an impregnable shield...

_Come on, there's got to be a chink in the armor somewhere_, I thought. Dejected I walked down the gentle slope to where I parked my ship after the abortive sensor sweep. Then the tricorder beeped. What now? I looked at it. Here was a complete scan of the interior if the structure. "Razia, over here!" I yelled up the hill. As Razia flew down the slope to my position, but I had a puzzle on my hands, as the next scan gave the blank shielded view as all the others had.

Razia landed beside me. "What did you find?"

"I'm not sure. This," while showing the tricorder scan. "But now it's gone again." She took the image and stared at it intently, then stared at the structure intently. Then she crouched down, holding the tricorder at about waist height. It beeped and showed a live image of the building's interior.

"This is where your view came from," Razia finally said triumphantly.

"The chink in the armor," I replied.

"But how do we get inside the building? At this distance the gap is only this wide." Razia inscribed a circle about ½ meter in diameter. "It will be smaller when we get closer."

"That's what transporters are for," I answered. I headed for my ship, Razia towering over me as she walked beside. Looking down the slope, I mentioned, "That's going to be one tricky parking job." I left her puzzled look unanswered.

On the bridge I put up the scans of the structure and surrounding terrain on the main viewer as a schematic. I plotted the pencil thin crack in the shields as an outbound cone. Then I explained to Razia that I had to park the ship with the transporter emitters (and only that part of the ship's hull) inside the thin cone. Then all we have to do is beam in.

"Exactly how does one 'beam in'?" She asked. I held up a hand, and fired up the thrusters, side slipping the starship over the ground and rotating it ever so slightly. I drifted down the hill until I had both the transporter emitters and the communication antennas within the cone. I had basically turned the ship into a hovercraft. The 20 centimeters that the ship dropped to landing didn't affect my aim.

"Let me show you a room that you haven't seen yet," I stated as we went down the main corridor. We took the second door on the left. The transporter was a half-sized version of those found on larger starships. This pads normal capacity was 4 people, not 7. There was only the two of us, but those wings were rather large. I powered up the console and sure enough an interior scan came up. There was one clear area inside the structure that we could beam to from here. "What you need to do is stand on that pad over there," I nodded in the direction of the transporter pad while setting the coordinates. "I'll set the delay, and after pressing this button we will be inside that structure. I just have to program in our return trip..." With that I joined Razia on the pad and waited, holding in her lower wings. The look on her face was priceless when the transporter effects started.

"How are we ...what is this ..." YANK "Oh my." And we were standing inside a dimly lit room surrounded by control consoles. Contrary to popular belief the transporter does not chop you up into little bits and try to reassemble you somewhere else. Nor does it convert you into an energy stream. Converting the mass of one person into energy would create a blast that would make thermonuclear weapons look like firecrackers. What it does do is create a small wormhole, stretches it across the transporter pad, squeezes you with an anti-gravity compression field so the wormhole's tides don't rip you apart, then passes the wormhole from floor to ceiling. Whatever is on the pad drops out the other side of the wormhole at the destination coordinates. It's still a weird feeling though.

The consoles appeared to be powered by the ancient power source. There was little illumination, but that mainly came from the consoles themselves. Then Razia pointed out what individual consoles were for.

"You can read this language?" I asked, incredulously.

"Yes. The language is composed, partly, of white mana." She replied. Apparently the Iconians knew about mana. There might be some connection between 'planeswalkers' and Iconians after all. But it turned out that the gate, which the building originally housed, was damaged beyond repair. With Razia's reading and my piloting abilities, we parsed out the consoles. The mapping computer was still functioning, and with Razia's help we determined that we were looking at a map 200 millennia old. We needed a new map!

It didn't take us long to determine which console and set of controls would update the map. After touching the controls in a proper sequence, a massive gravitational pulse was generated by the building.

_That's definitely going to be noticed_, I thought.

* * *

The Romulan vessel rocked in its orbit, nearly tumbling from orbit and crashing into the planet. "What was that?" Relar demanded of his bridge crew.

"Gravity wave. A big one!" the centurion exclaimed. "Someone has initiated a large gravity wave. Purpose unknown."

"So, they managed to get inside that building. Now who would be able to operate an Iconian facility?" Relar mused. "Put an active scan on that ship. If anything changes, I want to know about it yesterday!"

_So one of you are not what you want us to believe you are_, Relar thought. _And I'll bet it not you, "Andrew".

* * *

_

It was an agonizingly slow process watching the expanding gravity wave reset the map. Even at subspace radio speeds the return took a while, looking like an old-fashioned sonar picture. Eventually the expanding circle corrected the data to the current era. It was the rifts that we were waiting for. Since Razia was not of this universe, she would need to return to her own. We needed to find that 'plane of existence'.

When the updated map reached past the Rim Worlds and Tholian space, rifts appeared on the newly updated map. Three came up with one title, while the other two came up with another.

"So what do those tags there mean?" I asked Razia. I was pointing at the 5 rift symbols.

"These say that there is data on file, while the other two say that the destination is unknown. Those two rifts open up to unknown universes."

"Or to other parts of this universe," I replied, thinking about the _Enterprise_ and _Defiant_ in Tholian space.

"Yes, your universe is unusually vast. Those points of light at night ... that _flow_."

"You mean stars?" I asked, incredulously.

"Not quite. Ravnica has a few stars, at night," she replied. "There are lots of them here, and they flow into a ribbon across the sky."

"You mean the Milky Way," I responded. "And if you think that's big, wait till I show you all the other galaxies in this universe. By the way, what do those records say?" I asked.

"Each of these shows what is on the other side of the rift ... There's Ravnica!" She exclaimed.

One of the file pictures showed enough of the planet that Razia recognized it as her home. She mentioned that the planet no longer looked that way, but the continents matched. So I had to ask just how she knew that.

"You do know that I'm over four thousand years old, right," she answered.

"Wow. You look absolutely awesome for a quadra-millennian," I responded. "I wouldn't put you a day over 30."

"Thank you." She replied, missing the innuendo.

"Well, I guess that 'planeswalker' was right. There's your map home."

"But how do I get there?" She asked.

"That's where I come in. You definitely need a starship to get home. And you need some special equipment on that starship to do it too," I answered.

"So, you were right." she replied. "And my gut feeling was right after all." I grinned at that last statement. With a press of a button on my wrist communicator, we were beamed back aboard the _'Sister.

* * *

_

"Relar! Status change!" The centurion exclaimed.

"Explain centurion," Relar replied.

"The other ship just lowered its shields. Then there was a transporter signature. Now the shields are back up. The ship is lifting off from the planet's surface," the centurion answered. "Incoming communication," the centurion finished.

"On screen," Relar replied. An image of the southern structure, with the 'cone of entry' appeared on the view screen.

"Sir. The way into the southern structure..." the centurion queried.

"Is just a diversion," Relar cut him off. "They want to delay us with this building. The real treasure is onboard that ship." Shrewd, captain, very shrewd, but I won't fall for it you know. I will have my victory, and neither you nor the winged one will get in my way. I will have my answers! Relar thought. "Prepare to leave orbit. We will be following them, under cloak," he ordered

"As you wish commander," the centurion responded.

* * *

We were leaving the planet behind. Razia probably assumed that I would be heading straight for the proper rift, but I had other plans. You just don't sail through a rift to your destination - rifts usually are way too small. One needed to turn a rift into a wormhole, and that required a gravitic array, built to the proper specs. We needed the array, but even first, we needed the specs! So we needed a planet with both a good university and a subspace transmitter, so I was returning to Gamma Eldebron.

3 days later I was jarred out of bed. An alarm was screaming for my attention. I ran to the bridge, while Razia joined me from her cabin on deck 2. The scanners recorded what had occurred. The Romulan scout had snuck up on us, and they did have a plasma torpedo launcher! They were going for the quick disable and board. My standing programming had saved us. As soon as the Romulan had lobbed their torpedo, our scanners detected it and redlined the warp drive. We went from warp 7 to warp 12 in under 30 seconds. That's what knocked me out of bed. We were outrunning the torpedo, but just barely. "Brace for impact." I stated. Boom! The torpedo had impacted the rear shields, but they held. I decided to keep running at warp 12 for the moment.

"We should turn around and attack!" Razia stated. Her ire was definitely up.

"No, that's not a good idea." I replied.

"Why? You have weapons, we should fight!" Razia almost yelled.

"They outgun us by a factor of 3. That torpedo had lost most of its punch by the time it reached us. Flying straight into one would cripple this ship, and leave us open to boarding or destruction. Would you want to spend the end of your days as a Romulan prisoner?" I explained.

"No," Razia had calmed down a little.

"Then lets get to Gamma Eldebron. We will be safe there. They won't dare attack us from space and planetary law forbids ranged weapons. The local pork is a lot like your 'wojeks'. They don't put up with any bullshit, and the spaceport has scanners to detect anyone trying to smuggle in an energy weapon." I continued.

"All right then." Razia had her fiery temper back under control. "We will get the equipment that I need, and then I will go home." After I had left them in my wake, I throttled back to warp 9, at my safety limit, and at their maximum limit. Then the long chase to Gamma Eldebron began.

We landed on Gamma Eldebron, the remainder of our trip being uneventful. My Section 31 ship could easily outrun the Romulan scout. I had the advantage in engines this time. I decided for a ground-based docking bay. Ironically, I was assigned docking bay 13. The second day planetside, while we were at the university doing research, the Romulans showed up. They must have been redlining their engines all the way, trying to keep up. They took up an orbital berth. As soon as we returned to the '_Sister_, I broke out Razia's sword, and dug up a bowie knife out of one of the survival kits. Knives and swords were perfectly legal on Gamma Eldebron. It looked like we needed to spend two or three days at the university researching, before we could send out our specs. We decided to call it early, and left the passive scanners up. I wanted to know what the Romulans were up to.

* * *

When do you make the mistake that kills you? I had just found out. On the second afternoon after their arrival, the Romulans decided to strike. As Razia and myself were passing through an open market, shots rang out. The Romulans _were_ using ranged weapons! They had fabricated some old-fashioned revolvers, firing bullets propelled by chemical reactions. With no energy signature they simply walked them past the scanners. I wasn't expecting that. A bullet struck me in the back, shredding my left lung and exiting out of my chest. I stumbled through a doorway and crashed to the floor. Razia was no longer beside me. I was gasping and bleeding out, the Romulan's weapons were at least .50 caliber.

I was pretty sure I was dead again, and I didn't like it the second time around either. Then I awoke in my own sick bay. The auto-doc had closed up the wound, but cloning up a new lung would take a few months. I should have difficulty breathing, but I some how didn't. I also had a strange static-y feeling about me as well. That's when I learned what had happened. Razia went ape shit on the Romulans with her sword, killing all six of them in the raiding party. Then she flew me back to the _'Sister_, and put me into the auto-doc. The reason that I didn't die on the way and could breathe fine now while missing most of my left lung, was that Razia had "life-linked" with me. That angelic ability, possible even in this universe, had saved my life. The remaining Romulans were driven out of the system for their misdeeds. But that just meant they were left to lick their wounds and lurk just outside of the system.

* * *

Relar, was pissed. The centurion was dead, along with the rest of his landing party. That winged one could move, and sword fight! The centurion's plan backfired, but he paid the price. As soon as word got out that the Romulans had brought guns to a knife fight, their ship was surrounded by patrol craft, and was ordered out of the system. Their shot at a clean kidnapping was gone. He ordered the sub-lieutenant to maintain a cloaked patrol just beyond the planet after sneaking back into the system. _Since I can't outrun them I now must wait until they stop somewhere else before I can strike. But just where are they headed? Perhaps we should investigate that building after all.

* * *

_

We had our design and lined up a shipyard, with a few subspace calls. My wound healed up and my cloned lung was on 'the grow'. When it was ready I would have to line up a surgeon. We would have a run to New New Aberdeen, in the Triangle. The A.O.F.W. probably would put up with a Romulan ship showing up at their major shipyard, especially one registered to Freeloader. On New New Aberdeen they would definitely have to keep their noses clean, for we had no plans to really leave the ship without anything less than a phaser rifle. To try to throw them off, I was going to make a high speed run to Baker's World and veer off at the last minute. To avoid any departure hassles, I took the ship out on a random heading at maximum impulse. As soon as we crossed the warp wall, the warp drive spooled up to warp 10 and I made a slow sweeping arc towards Baker's World. Unless we ran over the Romulan on the way out we planned on leaving him behind. He was nowhere to be found. We kept up the speed for an entire day, and then backed off to warp 9. I needed to save my engines for later. This was another medium haul trip. I doubted that the Romulan could keep up the entire way without burning up his engines.

* * *

The fourth evening out of Gamma Eldebron, I was in my quarters after my usual vegetarian dinner with Razia. We had retired for the night, but ½ hour later there was a door beep. I answered the beep to my door. Stepping out into the corridor, there was Razia, buck-naked.

"Razia?" I asked, dumfounded.

She was in tears. "I require ... I need ... Companionship." Then she embraced me, in desperation.

_That was unexpected_. I thought.

* * *

I awoke to a living feather bed. Razia was still holding on to me after last evening's activities. I learned a lot about angel physiology, whether that information was destined for mortals or not! Apparently, the 'life-link' that Razia initiated, included a telepathic link. She was dreaming my dreams, which included standard male fantasies! Since Ravnican angels don't normally sleep, they don't normally dream either. Life-linked to a mortal, Razia began to 'dream the impossible dream'. And unlike myself, Razia had an eidetic memory, and she remembered _everything_. I also learned about a few pressure points, sure to get any angel's attention!

We crossed the 44 remaining parsecs between Gamma Eldebron and Baker's World, in 11 days. Razia had moved in with me, leaving deck 2 unoccupied again. As soon as we were 3 hours out I changed course and dropped the hammer on the drives - warp 12. The little ship was slicing through the eternal dark at over 8500 times the speed of light. We were crossing a parsec just under every four hours. Just over a day to go, and we may have shaken the Romulans. Upon arrival at New New Aberdeen, we found out that the fitting of the gravitic array into the starboard aft of deck 2 would take two weeks, and require cutting into the hull. We were expecting the Romulans to show up, but there was no sign of them.

That was either really good ... or really bad.

* * *

Refitted, we were heading up out of the galactic plane towards the rift that led to Ravnica. The ship was humming along at warp 9, and the 157-parsec trip would be our longest one, 6 weeks. Then Razia could go home, hopefully before her fall from grace was complete. We spent the time together, training her on the shuttlepod, when we weren't simply enjoying each other's company. We weren't guaranteed to be able to open a large portal, if we could open one at all. All was quiet on the aft scanners.

* * *

The ship rocked with the torpedo hit. I was jarred out of the engineer's chair and onto the deck of the bridge. The lights and gravity went out briefly and came back on. Red lights were flashing all over the engineering panel. It wasn't good. But Razia had just entered the rift in the shuttlepod, as the portal that we opened was only 6 meters wide. Unfortunately I had to stop with the aft array pointing at the rift to open it. Razia's job was easy. Fly out of the cargo bay and through the portal, which she did. It was during that action that the Romulan de-cloaked on its attack run and fired. Apparently they had found out our final destination and were camping out on the rift. They overran me and re-cloaked. I don't think that they figured out just how short a time we were going to be here.

I had Razia in the shuttlepod and the aft cargo hatch open. As soon as I stopped, I 'fired' the gravitic array, and Razia flew into it. It was all over in seconds. There was nothing the Romulan could do. I looked at my board.

Fore port shield gone. Phasers were down, main computer down - we were running on the engineering computer. Life support damaged - goodbye cheeseburgers for a while. Hull damaged - structural integrity was down 56%. I still had my engines and my photon torpedoes. Time to go! As the warp drives spooled up I waited for the Romulan to show up, then I remembered his torpedo took a full minute to cycle. I set up my ship for a Sunday punch. I reprogrammed the ship to divert power from one of the torpedo tubes immediately to the other. I had two rounds rapid, and then I had to wait for the plasma conduit to cool. I started a straight line run. Sure enough the Romulan had swept around in a wide arc, recharging his weapon. As soon As I had a lock I fired, cycled the conduit and fired again. The first round slammed into his shields, and the second hit just after he fired. We both broke to our Starboards. I had a torpedo to outrun and he had no front shields left. Time to go! Go go go go go! The ship rocked with the impact just barely absorbed by the aft shields. The Romulan had decided he had enough, and was moving off un-cloaked. Maybe I had hurt him a little, and he definitely wasn't expecting a pair of photon torpedoes in the face. Besides Razia had made it home, and there was no point on staying here for either of us. My job was done and I headed for home.


	3. The Dark Tower

**3: THE DARK TOWER**

I was depressed, and feeling sorry for myself. I cruised toward New Psychonia from the rift at a leisurely warp 5, almost as if I was looking for a fight. Maybe I was. The Romulan has lost all interest in me, his quarry having escaped back to her home. A song with one change rolled around my consciousness.

_My lover's gone_

_Her boots no longer by my door_

_She left at dawn_

_And as I slept I felt her go_

_Returns no more_

_I will not watch the ocean_

_My lover's gone_

_No earthly ships will ever bring her home again_

_Bring her home again..._

Boy was I in a funk. The _7__th__ Sister_ seemed vast, cold and empty. Besides it was 3:30 pm ship time when I gave Razia one final embrace, and she stepped into the shuttlepod. The rift was closer to New Psychonia than to New New Aberdeen, but at this leisurely pace the parsecs crawled by one a day, and this trip would actually take longer. Screw it; warp 9. I needed to put some dirt under my feet. I was going to the only home I had left. New Psychonia. I had found a small village on the northern continent, which I had a small apartment on 'permanent lease'. Silverton was a modern town of about 5000 people. Its location and, I thought, beauty were a well kept secret. The waterfalls and the lake, the two spires against the cliffs, the moons in the background ...

I needed something to do, something to keep my mind off of the past. What was I doing messing with angel's lives anyways? Razia would be ageless, while I grew old and died. Did I really want that on my conscience? Any rate I would be "low man on the totem pole" in her Legion anyways. The only humans that could contact the angels in her realm were her own guildmages.

I really needed to get out of this tin can. I did the math and determined I could run warp 10.5 and make it. So into the danger zone we went. For my ship, I had found a rather odd perch. An old sea bound resource extracting refinery was looking for extra tenants, and they had a landing pad big enough for the _'Sister_. Some rented offices and I had my 'lair' so to speak. 'Star Trucking' was now in business!

I was an interstellar commerce company, which did no interstellar commerce! It also turns out that I didn't kill off my cheeseburgers after all. This time that Romulan torpedo did sever the power conduit to life support, but I had a replacement standing by! So I gorged myself on a carnivore's feast all the way home. Besides I still had a lung transplant waiting for me when I got back...

* * *

Home at last. I had landed the _'Sister_ on the pad of the _Extractor_, and took my remaining shuttle to Silverton. It was good for short planetary hops, but wasn't really space-worthy. I had the warp drive all torn apart in an attempt to get it working. The technicians looked over the ship and said he could fix the main computer. I had already fabricated and installed new power conduits for my phasers. I needed something to do and crawling around the hot cramped engineering spaces consumed a _lot_ of time. I parked my shuttle at the local airport, along with the atmosphere craft normally found there. I returned to my apartment with a case of Romulan Ale in tow. I never did get around to drinking it. Razia kept me busy doing other things. There was one message waiting for me, from Amek.

"I have a mission for you. If you will accept it." Straight out of a cheesy spy novel, and I would have been the person to tell Amek about it originally. The message was only a week old. I returned his call. Apparently I have a fast track to Amek, once the receptionist heard my name I was put through immediately.

"How are you doing old buddy!" Amek exclaimed.

"Medium terrible," I replied. I wasn't about to go into details though.

"You up for a challenge?" Amek asked.

"Sure. Anything to keep my focus right about now would be appreciated," I replied.

"Good, good. I have a job that might require your special skills. You see there is this team who are looking for their families. When they find them they are going to need your help with getting their family members back, if you get my meaning." Amek explained.

That was just up my alley. _And just the thing to take my mind off the present, _I thought_._ "I'm all ears," I told Amek.

"Good. I need you to go to the planet Ramus and meet up with Ellen, a Psychon researcher there. It's her team that is doing the searching ...

* * *

So much for staying home, I thought. It was 'back on your bicycle spaceman', as I headed to Ramus, an agricultural planet halfway between the Rim Worlds and the Triangle. Another two week trip, at maximum warp. The trip probably was the most boring of all the trips I had made to date in the _'Sister_.

"Captain's log, Stardate 12666.3. I am in orbit about what might also be the most boring planet in the galaxy. This entire planet was covered in farms. There is one lone spaceport as the only obvious change from farms. There is no urban center to be found anywhere!"

But that would mean that my target would be easy to find... A lone Psychon on the planet should give off a unique sensor signature. Sure enough I found her at the planets' spaceport. I landed the _'Sister_ and contacted Ellen.

* * *

It turns out that the Orions are responsible for a lot of disappearances along the rim. But where they go is a mystery. Some are obviously kidnapped for a ransom, but a lot of ordinary folk have gone missing. My current mission was to assist Ellen's team. It consisted of a rag-tag group of families (really parts thereof) who were on the search for their loved ones. Her team consisted of the human Rebek Mallor, their computer expert, Keven Miller, who was missing his wife, K'tee and her cub Parna, both Caitians, the feline species from Cait. They were looking for her mate, Doctor Toki, and of course, Ellen herself. She was looking for her missing sister, Mira. Why they were on such a boring planet was simple. It was Orion and boring. What better a place to research into the Orions without attracting unwanted attention?

* * *

Actually it turned out that going to Ramus wasn't the best plan after all. Since nobody went there, a small group of researchers attracted attention, and not necessarily the best kind. There was already friction between the group and the local officials, who basically wanted them all off the planet. But they had nowhere to go, and no one to get them there. Then I showed up. As soon as I contacted Ellen, she informed me that they just had a computer breakthrough, and to meet them at the nearest restaurant to the spaceport. The support center of the spaceport was the only urban area on this miserable rock.

When I reached the establishment only Ellen was waiting for me. The others were busy readying themselves for the journey off of this planet, while Rebek was exploring the breakthrough. He was the next person that I needed to see. We headed over to the library, where Rebek was. It was quiet there, too quiet. We split up to look for Rebek. It was not long before I found him. He was slumped over a computer terminal. As I approached, I noticed a disruptor burn in his back. He was dead. As I checked him over, and was about to call for help, a slip of paper fell out of his left hand. I quickly pocketed that paper.

As 'help' arrived, I noticed that Ellen was armed with a disruptor. I told her to get the rest of the team and to meet outside the _'Sister_. I wanted to check them out before they stepped foot on my ship. Once they were together, I noticed that all the adults carried disrupters as their personal weapons. I was back to square one. But I had a plan. I stepped out of the airlock with my trusty tricorder and a phaser rifle in tow, an assault rifle with a built in grenade launcher. It was the heaviest ordinance in my personal arsenal.

"Hand over your disruptors, butt first if you will." I told the group.

Keven was first to protest, "I don't have to put up with this!" He turned to Ellen.

I cut him short. "If you don't comply, you're staying here. Rebek is dead, killed by a disruptor. The only armed person on board _my_ ship is going to be _me_!"

Ellen handed me her disruptor, a Romulan model. Keven and K'tee handed their weapons over as well, after a brief lecture from Ellen. It seemed that nobody wanted to be left behind on this rock, and both eventually deferred to Ellen, especially after I threatened to leave them all here and go home. Everybody I knew were 6 centuries dead, in another universe, or Amek. I told them as much. Until I find out who killed Rebek, we were staying here.

That became an exercise in futility. The local police closed the case with "killer unknown" after only 3 days. I wasn't getting any answers there. If one of the people on board had killed Rebek, I would have to flush them out another way. Time to read that note. It contained a location in the Kalif system, which housed the planet Workday, in the Triangle. We had somewhere to go finally, and a flight plan. The flight plan was filed for me, but not by me. I was basically being told to leave. And I possibly had a traitor and killer on board my ship. Time to drop some nasty hints. After settling the group up on deck 2, I explained to them that if I see anybody on deck one forward without my permission I was going to shoot first and ask questions later. And yes, I was planning on sleeping with my phaser rifle.

* * *

We were having our first onboard meal together. And no, I wasn't carting around a big bulky rifle inside the ship. I was however set up for my newly learned fighting style, Gun-Kata. I needed to do something on the trip in and that course fit the trip time. I picked up dual pistol style, and now sported two 'Sting' models, one on each hip. I was even thinking of adding a cape to my ships' uniform. I originally thought of a Laura Croft outfit, but decided against it. At the end of the meal I started packing up a backpack that was left out in the crew's lounge. "What's in that?" K'tee asked curiously.

"It's a survival kit that I loaned to ... a friend," I replied. "I never got around to putting it back in my shuttle."

"You got a shuttle in this ship?" Keven asked incredulously.

"Sure. It's parked in the main cargo bay. It's not like I've got much cargo in there. I just use the rear cargo hatch as shuttlecraft hanger doors. I even had installed an atmosphere barrier." I beamed. "Get some sleep, all of you. We're not going back to New Psychonia."

"We are not?" Ellen asked.

"No." I held up a memory card. "We're going to the Turnstile. Rebek's killer didn't find this. It has a copy of all the data on his computer. I think that he had a suspicion. Tomorrow we are all going to meet up on the bridge and get the computer to query this." With that I took the backpack down and put it back in the shuttle. Then I retired to my "VIP" quarters on deck 1. And waited.

I didn't have to wait long. Within ½ an hour, the turbo lift brought the first one to the hangar. K'tee entered the shuttle and retrieved a survival kit. Ten minutes later Keven did the same. The shock to me was when Ellen picked one up 20 minutes later. I had almost crossed her off of my list!

* * *

After morning breakfast, of, you guessed it, coffee and bagels, we all met in the bridge. It seemed that hat has become the 'doomsday' breakfast aboard ship. I _did_ have other breakfast choices on board. I sat at the science station and invited each one to sit at a console. I let Parna sit in the Captains Chair. I put the memory card into its proper slot. "I'm going to look up Kalif. Keven, I want you to look up Doo, K'tee, Olen, and Ellen, you're looking up Laldan." Those systems held the planets Workday, Doo III, Freeloader, and Laldan VI. There was nothing out of the ordinary to be found in the database. After a few minutes, everybody noticed that I wasn't actually doing research. I was watching them. They all stopped and turned towards me.

"Ellen, what did I ask you to do?" I asked.

She blinked. "Look for something unusual in the Laldan system," she replied, confused. Her searches were up on the main view screen.

"Keven." I hit a button and the view screen changed. "I asked you to look up Doo. So why in the hell would you first look up some obscure asteroid in the Kalif system. It the only way that you would even know that there was this asteroid in the Kalif system, is when you saw it on Rebek's computer. Right before you shot him." I sat accusatorily with my arms folded across my chest.

He took that as an opportunity. He quickly pulled out the phaser he had taken from the survival pack, pointed it at me and pressed the firing stud. Nothing happened. K'tee's shot at Keven didn't happen either. I did appreciate the effort though. The Caitian was quick. "Two malfunctions? What were the odds of that happening? I bet you mine work." Then Keven threw the phaser at me, and bolted through the door, while I was busy ducking. K'tee started after him. I think she was planning to use her bare claws if necessary. "K'tee stop. Where's he going to go? We're at warp. Computer, lockdown mode," I ordered. "Locate all individuals on board."

"There are 4 individuals on the bridge and one individual in the main cargo bay." The ship's computer replied.

"The shuttle. He's going to steal your shuttle!" Ellen exclaimed.

"That would be foolish. I have the shuttle's warp drive all torn apart. Even if he could get out, the warp drive would vent all its plasma into the cabin. Didn't anyone notice the sign on the controls?" That was the trouble when you inherited an off the base surplus shuttle. It's age and condition could vary greatly.

Apparently Keven did know his escape artistry. He managed to override the cargo door controls, and sure enough the shuttle left. I walked over the control console. "You can't go to warp in that shuttle!" I warned Keven. He apparently wasn't listening. The shuttle's engines spooled up to full power, before being abruptly shut down again. The scanner indicated no life inside. The cabin temperature had reached 440 C. There was nothing left to do but remotely take back control of the shuttle, when the electronics cooled and returned to normal functioning. We vented any remains to space and returned the shuttle to the cargo bay. You would think that that big sign adhered to the console would have been warning enough.

* * *

We were falling down the deep dark dimensions towards the Orion Frontier Mercantile Association, colloquially known as the 'Turnstile' due to its shape. We had to get into the Kalif system, find out what was on this asteroid, find the missing people, if they were there, spring them, and then get out of hostile space without getting killed. _That was going to be easy_, I sarcastically thought. There were only four of us, one a child at that. Parna wanted to fight but both K'tee and myself forbade it. But just in case a fight was necessary, I checked out both K'tee and Ellen on the Assault Phaser Rifle – Mark 30A. I had half of a dozen of them in my arsenal, with stun, blast and plasma grenades. If we were going to be the three musketeers, then we needed all the help we could get.

* * *

We eventually arrived in Kalif, and headed for the planet Workday. Our rather unusual path took us very close to a particular asteroid that we flew by, at a rather leisurely pace. In this instance I risked using active scanners. If anyone asked, I would rely on my fall back "paranoia" and give a story about an asteroid collision in my past.

It was a good thing that we did. It seems nobody wanted outsiders to find out what we had. If the extent of our scans were known, we would have not made it off the planet. But the three of us, in _SS Pleiades_ uniforms, managed to convince the local authorities that we were here to buy a load of warp coils for the shipyards of New Psychonia, or at least the raw materials for them. The rumors of re-opening the shipyards had reached this far. And I had enough latinum on board to convince anyone that we were serious about leaving with a full load onboard. A few negotiations later, and a small cargo of essential components were purchased.

* * *

Step one was complete. We had found out what was on that asteroid. A single spire of black hull metal rose from the surface of the asteroid. Its stark column had a small spaceport at its base. When the scans were up I dubbed it "The Dark Tower" in reference to a 20th century book series. Somewhere in that tower were the people we were looking for.

There was a complication. The only ships that were allowed to go there were supply ships, of obvious Orion design. We couldn't just waltz up and ask for landing permission! We needed another way in. It's time for a risky bet.

"Ellen, I have a job for you, but you won't like it." I told her at breakfast. And no, this time it was eggs and toast.

"What do you need?" She replied.

"I need you to find a terminal and see what the specs are for the ships that arrive at the dark tower," I stated.

"And that should be right on their public database," she retorted.

"No, but you're the best hacker we've got."

"And what if I get caught?" She asked.

"You won't. I'm going with you to make sure of that," I promised.

"K'tee, you need to stand by in the bridge, just in case we need to make a quick departure." I had already trained both of them in basic ships systems. Spending a long time cooped up in a small tin can, you get to know your guests and these were good people. They were truly caring about their families. It made me wonder exactly what Keven was about. So I took them under my wing, so to speak.

So Ellen and myself headed to the nearest library or cyber café in search of a terminal. And sure enough, she gained some insight to the ships that supplied 'Dark Tower.' But somewhere we must have tripped a silent alarm. On our way back to our ship me wet with some opposition.

They jumped us just outside of the spaceport. A band of ruffians appeared, surrounding us. Their leader spoke, "you shouldn't be poking your noses into things beyond your control."

"And what of it?" Ellen retorted.

"Now you die," the leader responded.

"Like hell," I replied. I already had my pair of phasers out, this time set on disintegrate. The leader took it first. Then before Ellen could react, I had dropped most of the gang, blasting them into non-existence. The rest ran into the surrounding alleys. _Damn, that gun-kata works_, I thought. After Ellen picked up her jaw from the floor, we headed back to the _'Sister_.

"Remind me never to piss you off," she finally said.

We had a departure in three hours. There was no point in sticking around, and letting other attacks get through. We had what we needed, almost.

The data was intriguing. All of the supply ships to the 'Dark Tower' were unmanned robot ships. Apparently nobody entered or left that facility. The big question was why? But I had decided to be the first, after our escape from Workday.

* * *

We were lying doggo just outside the warp wall for the Kalif system. We were on a high-speed sub light trajectory past the asteroid. I needed to find out exactly where captives were, if I could. This was an agonizingly slow process, but the artificial aperture scanner method worked. I had my data. Now I needed by way in.

Three days later the opportunity presented itself. An unmanned cargo ship was approaching the system. I swung the _'Sister_ around a long arcing trajectory that would put us into a rendezvous with the freighter. The freighter didn't react to our presence. We landed on its back, and in spacesuits, cut our way into the hull. Reprogramming the ships computer was child's play for Ellen.

* * *

The cargo ship came in for landing at 'The Dark Tower'. The _'Sister_, affixed to its back went unnoticed. As the ship came into landing, it flipped over, and crashed into the spaceport, causing damage to the other freighters there. The little ship on its back detached and actually rammed the tower, hitting it between floor 55 and floor 60. The ships structural integrity field allowed it to slice effortlessly into the tower's structure. The little ship came to a stop when its warp nacelles struck the tower. The nose protruded into the building, exposing the airlock to the inside. The ships phasers were also inside the building. But that was intentional.

The _'Sister_ fired its phasers inside the building, three times. The first was at the guard tower for the jail section. The second was at the access point on deck 55. The last was the upper access point on deck 60. In under a minute, the prison area of the tower was both disabled, and sealed off from the rest of the structure. "Stephen, you are one crazy human," K'tee said.

"Hey, all in a day's work," I replied. "Now let's find your family."

We stepped out the airlock into a mess of catwalks and corridors. Much of the prisoner control areas were slag, our doing. I hoped that it would hold out long enough...

The freighter that crashed wasn't finished yet. Onboard, a clock was silently counting down. When it reached zero, in thirty minutes, It would shut down the power to it's own antimatter containment system. Then the uncontrolled reaction would vaporize everything, the surrounding ships, and the tower, even the asteroid itself. That's how long we had to finish our rescue and get out. We were on a strict time limit. Step one, find a console and locate missing relatives. Step two - break them out. Step three, leave before the boom.

We stepped out of the airlock into the prison section. Ellen found a working terminal and located the prisoner files. Now she had a new problem. Here were a lot of other prisoners here, all of them victims, it seemed. Their only fault was that nobody had the resources to rescue them.

"What do we do with all these people?" Ellen asked.

"The best we can with what we got! Break them all out, squeeze them aboard the _'Sister_, and hope for the best. We only have about 25 minutes left!" I exclaimed. I started for the first cell, phaser in hand...

Immediately I hit a snag. The first cell was not a simple holding cell as I expected. After burning through the door, I found myself standing beside an abyss, with a podium, for lack of a better description, in the middle of it. The prisoner was on the podium, and it wasn't human. A large chunk of living rock had turned to face me. I recognized the species from my training, a _Horta_.

"You, Horta!" I yelled.

"If you're coming to kill me, just get it over with!" The Horta replied.

"Actually I'm here to rescue you, as well as whoever we can," I replied.

"Well thank you, but if you have noticed, I'm kind of stuck here. They didn't want me melting my way to freedom," the Horta replied. At least he had a universal translator, I thought. I looked around. I needed a bridge, I thought. Then I found it. The cell door that I cut open was just long enough...

But I couldn't quite lift the door by myself. Just then a Caitian appeared beside me. "I'm Toki," he said. "K'tee sent me to help you."

"Good. Lets get this door across there and get that Horta out of there," I replied. Our combined efforts slid the door across the 'moat' and the door slammed down, creating an impromptu bridge. The Horta crossed it immediately. From below a flaming force field erupted. Just as the Horta cleared the moat the door melted and plummeted into the abyss. But at least he was free.

"Call me Mr. Nergat," the Horta said.

"OK, this is what I want you to do," I replied. "We need to get everybody out and I need you to melt up their doors. Can you do that for me?" I asked.

"Certainly, but what's the rush; you cut off all their guards." Nergat replied. He apparently looked around, but with no visible eyes, us carbon-based life forms couldn't tell.

"Because in about 18 minutes this entire place is going to be a ball of expanding plasma."

"Oh. Then I'd better get started," Nergat replied.

Toki interrupted me, "What's this about being plasma in 18 minutes?"

"I set the A-M pods to power down on the freighter we hijacked at that time," I replied.

"But ... that will vaporize the whole complex!" He exclaimed.

"Yes, that's the point. Throw off any chance of pursuit." It did have its drawbacks, but we were committed when we commenced our run.

"You are definitely one crazy human." Toki echoed his mate.

* * *

14 minutes later all the prisoners were filing through the airlock into the _'Sister_. The first thing that came to my mind was 'where are we going to put all of them?' But that wasn't the first priority. In four minutes a 35 Gigaton nuclear style explosion would engulf this place. We definitely needed to be elsewhere.

Toki was filing the last of the prisoners aboard the _'Sister_. "How much time have we got left?" He asked.

"Don't ask. Not enough." I replied.

"What next?"

"We find Ellen. She's missing," I answered.

It took me a couple precious minutes to find Ellen. She was at one of the surviving computer consoles, crying.

"Mira's dead." Ellen cried. "They sold her, to a uranium miner. The note said she was sold cheap because nobody there lasts over 6 months until the radiation kills them. _They sold her_!"

"Yeah, but getting vaporized on this rock wont help anybody!" I grabbed her arm. "We got to go. Now!" I yelled, breaking into her consciousness. We both ran for the _'Sister_.

"I'm sorry," Toki replied. "But we have less than two minutes left, and a whole whack of passengers to sort out."

"Time to go. We'll sort it out on the run," I replied. _It was time to go_. We had seconds to spare. Toki cycled the airlock and I backed the 7th sister out of the hole I had created. As soon as I cleared the structure, I did a '180' and engaged the impulse engines, leaving the tower behind. The fireball was a spectacle to behold, but we were busy getting out of its way. Our way was clear but we had pursuers.

It turned out that the Orion patrol ships were kept in orbit around Workday, and had moved out the moment we struck the tower. The only ships on the ground were the unmanned freighters.

* * *

We were running, at warp 10. Two Orion ships were perusing us, and they were keeping up. It turned out that this would be a contest of who's engines could stand the pounding, and whether we could make it back to Psyche. We did sort out the passengers on the run. We taxed the fabricator to make enough cots to turn the cargo bay into a makeshift barracks. We also were overtaxing the life support system. In order to feed everyone I would have to drain the tissue culture vats. I started with the poultry one, as I was relying on the algae vat to supplement the oxygen system, which was slowly going under. Cheeseburgers for everyone!

After the first week I had moved into the engine room. I needed to baby those engines, as any failure meant a fight with the Orions. Give up already! Actually, one of the Orion ships did, turning back after the first week. The other, however, did not. We settled into a long chase, at warp 10.5. I lived in the engine room, fabricating and replacing parts as needed. Ellen was left navigating, while K'tee helped her on the bridge. Toki looked after the passengers, as well as the life support systems. Time was running out. We depleted the animal protein vat and started on the algae vat. That put a time limit on our oxygen supply. I did the numbers and realized that we needed to get to at least warp 11.5 if we we're going to make it back. I redlined the engines again, hoping I could keep them together. The second Orion gave up.

* * *

We made it, but just barely. The life support was a mess, and the _'Sister_ now needed a complete refit to make it space worthy again. As we landed on New Psychonia, the sense of relief was palpable. The passengers were no longer my problem, as the government stepped in to help. It made the Headlines, and I was a hero yet again. I seemed to be getting way too much press in the New Psychonia news. So much for being a zero. Amek didn't seem to mind. I fact, he seemed to be encouraging it!

But we made it, in one piece. This rescue was over, and most of the victims could now be returned home. Except for a few, who had no place to go. I found myself answering my apartment door three times. I guess I was a sucker for punishment, since I couldn't say 'no'.

Toki asked me if there was anything he could do to repay me. "Well, I soon will need a lung transplant," I replied...


	4. The Mines of Moria 1

**4: ****THE MINES OF MORIA (pt 1)**

The _7__th__ Sister_ was no longer an empty little ship piloted by a lone crusader. She had a crew! As diverse a crew as one could find in this crazy galaxy. Ellen stayed on, probably to have or seek a new purpose. Nergat was seeking adventure, and bombing around the rim in a starship with a half-crazy human seemed to be just the ticket. K'tee had spent all of her family's meager assets on the search for her mate, and they had nowhere else to go. We had departed New Psychonia on what was basically a milk run, after refitting the _'Sister_. Even so, I made sure that we had brought up the torpedo complement, and had a few spares packed away in the cargo hold. I now had a science officer/helm person, a communications specialist, and with a Horta compatible control panel, a navigator. We also didn't have to depend on the auto-doc to get it right all the time either! Toki did a fine job on my lung transplant.

This trip was a favor for Amek. He needed to get a new shipment of dilithium crystals for his next refit of his small fleet of cargo vessels, and a fast, armed vessel was just perfect. This was also a private mine out here on the rim, so there was no wait for a secure shipment from the Federation or elsewhere. We were heading to Moria at warp 7. The outbound trip was just over two weeks. It also was uneventful.

Moria was a strange planet. The surface was barren; the breathable surface was wholly created by marine life. The primary didn't have its own name, just the catalog number TYC 779-705-1. The single large landmass had one facility on it, an Orion owned dilithium mine, with a cracking station and small spaceport. They also had a patrol ship in orbit. I just hoped that they were not the same clan who owned the "Dark Tower" otherwise this could get really awkward!

Landing was no problem. The 'port authority' got their payments for a week's stay while the crystals were cracked to the proper dimensions. Then they were loaded, in small batches, into a container which reminded me of a standard "20 foot" ISO cargo container, which fit easily into the cargo hold with the shuttle and stack of torpedoes. But then I knew trouble would only come after we left the planet with our precious cargo.

* * *

Little did I expect any incidents to happen while on Moria! On the fifth day we all decided to go "out for dinner" at the local tavern. It was expensive, but the food was _real_. When we had returned to the 'Sister, a small warning light was flashing in the airlock. Someone had broken in. And these weren't ordinary locks; these were Section 31 locks. I closed the outer door, and reached into one of the spacesuit lockers. I unzipped the suit that had my name on it, and pulled out a duplicate of my gun-kata belt, and strapped it on. The pair of phaser pistols rested right where they were supposed to be, ready for my speed draw.

"You really are that paranoid," K'tee commented. "Do you have guns stashed all over the ship?"

"Only in a couple of strategic places," I replied. "All of the heavy stuff stays in the armory, and the phaser 1's in the survival packs are activated again." I set one phaser on heavy stun, and the other on disrupt-2. _No sense blowing really big holes in my ship if I miss_, I thought.

The airlock door opened onto an empty corridor. A quick check on the main computer and bridge revealed nothing. Next were my quarters. Empty. I picked up my first belt and pull out its phasers and handed one to Ellen and K'tee. "Stay here with Parna," I told Toki, while picking up my tricorder. A quick scan revealed two indeterminate energy signatures, in the engineering compartment on deck 3. _Somebody is messing with my engines_, I thought. "Something is in my engine room," I stated.

"Something?" Ellen asked.

"Yeah. Readings are indeterminate. They might have some kind of personal shielding." I reset one phaser to disrupt-4, and the beam width as narrow as it would go. We took the lift to deck 2, and the gangway to deck 3. The first thing I did before sticking my head up was to reach up with the tricorder and take a quick scan. At least nobody was trying to shoot it. I looked at the readings. There were two definite life signs, type unknown; the visual shown an empty engine room. They were hiding. Then I noticed. I almost missed it. In amongst the equipment were two of the ubiquitous labor robots that the Orions were using all over this facility. What was really strange was that the life form readings were _coming from the robots_. I pointed out the targets on the display. Time to rush in, guns blazing.

We bolted up the stairs and into the center of the engine room. Then Ellen swerved right, while K'tee swerved left to each cover one of the robots. I stood in the middle of the room in a kata trance, each phaser pointed squarely at the breastplate of one of the robots.

"Don't shoot! We can explain!" The voice sounded decidedly female.

"We're not robots," the other said, in a definitely male voice.

_That was unexpected_; it also brought me out of my trance. I lowered my weapons and put them away, both 'robots' were still being covered. "You better explain quickly before I chuck you both out of the airlock," I threatened.

"We are the Mek-Tac race. These bodies were constructed so that we could interact with the outside world. Then the Orions came, and enslaved our race! They make us mine dilithium, and they kill anyone who resists."

"So, what do you really look like?" I asked.

"If you really want to know..." he replied.

"Yes, I do."

"We look like this..." and his breastplate opened, revealing an entity that reminded me of a sea sponge, who inhabited a mini control room inside the 'robot'. "The two of us decided to mate, but the Orions wouldn't allow it. We decided to escape this world, and take our chances elsewhere."

"Please don't turn us in." His mate said.

"Aren't the Orions going to be looking for you?" I asked.

"When they miss us they will be furious!" She exclaimed. "No one has made it off of the planet to be able to tell our story! Please help us!"

"OK, I have an Idea. But you must follow my instructions _explicitly_," I hissed.

Sure enough, the Orions had noticed the missing creatures. They had a message waiting for us on our bridge. Before I answered their message shots rang out on the _'Sister_. Two blasts on disintegrate. With the shields down, external sensors registered the energy signature, along with two disappearing robotic signatures.

I answered the hail that was pending. "_7__th__ Sister_ here." I said.

"_7__th__ Sister_, please be advised that two of our robots have broke their programming and have run amok. Please make sure that they are not on board your ship."

"They were, but we took care of them, before they could attack any of my crew."

"So that's what the phaser firing was. Thank you _'Sister_, are there any remains?"

"I'm afraid not. We weren't taking any chances, and had set our phasers on dematerialize..."

"That's fine with us. Please be advised hat there won't be further charges." Their controller stated. Their scanners would have indicated two phaser disintegrate shots. Apparently this has happened from time to time. I wondered who else had tried to escape...

* * *

It turns out that this wasn't the first escape attempt, but it was the first one that succeeded. The Orions had arrived here about 60 years ago and enslaved the Mek-Tacs. The race was a sea-going intelligence that discovered robotics. They had created metal bodies to explore their world above the oceans. Then the Orions came. A few thousand executions later and the Mek-Tacs had surrendered. The Orions quickly put them to work in the dilithium mines and the cracking plant. Occasionally, one of the slaves would try to stow away on a ship, but invariably, all of them were caught and punished, until now.

When we lifted off from Moria the ship had two extra 'people' on board, tucked away in the secret room. Now we had to be doubly aware, as we had a highly valuable cargo of dilithium crystals, as well as two stow-aways on board. _Something was going to happen_, I thought.

* * *

Much to my surprise, absolutely nothing bad happened on our trip back to New Psychonia. We completed the return trip at warp 7, again taking just over 2 weeks. When we arrived and unloaded our cargo we gave a brief introduction to Amek for our two Mek-Tacs. They had a standing message for anyone who would listen to their plea, if any one of them escaped.

It turned out that their council of elders had a plea for rescue from anyone who would listen with a sympathetic ear. They asked for someone to return to Moria and collect as many slaves as they could. The ideal was either liberation or an evacuation of the planet! With Ameks go-ahead, we were about to head back to that planet.

"I guess freedom for your people is going to be my gift for this year," I told Brent and Marie.

"What do you mean?"

"On the Gregorian calendar, this is December 25, 2686. Merry Christmas!"

That meant another two-week trip. We took the Mek-Tacs, 'Marie' and 'Brent', respectively with us. This time we were sneaking back into the Moria system. Crossing the warp wall, we shut down the engines and made a high sub light speed coast past the planet. A message to the elders with a time and place, and then a surreptitious transport, and the elders were aboard the _'Sister_. Their first real chance at freedom was at hand. We then had another 2-week trip back home.

* * *

Amek had negotiated with the elders of the Mek-Tacs. They were a race of excellent engineers, and Amek needed to refit the shipyards that were in orbit of new Psychonia's sister planet. He was still in negotiations with the Rim Worlds Confederacy. The entire planet had a similar surface as Moria, and currently was unoccupied. The Mek-Tacs could inhabit it if they had to evacuate from their home. But the trick was how to get them off of their planet without the Orions noticing.

Apparently that answer was already made. Many of the Mek-Tacs had "disappeared" from the Orions' grasp, setting up camps in the vast tunnel system under the large continent. There were contingents of would be rebels, if they had access to weapons, which they didn't. The only traffic to or from the planet was through the Orion spaceport. It was time to change that, I thought.

* * *

We were on our third trip to Moria. This time we were going on a spec mission to the mine. Amek had bankrolled a purchase of uncut dilithium crystals, to be loaded on the _'Sister_. We knew full well that the cargo that we were leaving with was the unexpected one. As we entered orbit around the planet our transporters were used again. A pallet of weapons would appear in one of the resistance camps chamber. These would slowly and quietly be distributed amongst the resistance groups.

We landed, paid up port fees for 2 days, and loaded our cargo. Uncut crystals were easier to get: There was no cracking involved. But our real cargo had absolutely no crystals in it. Our cargo bay was actually being filled with escaping Mek-Tacs. They were loading their own brothers and sisters into my ship! But that was the plan. We would evacuate as many as we can under the guise of loading a cargo of non-existent crystals. This group would form the core of the New Moria resistance. Their task, upon arrival, would be to activate the shipyards there and work with the elders on the next phase of their plan.

We left on time, with a full cargo hold. The Mek-Tac's mechanical bodies provided for their own life support independently for about a month. The 2-week trip to New Psychonia would not have any effect on my ship. They could all stay sealed in the cargo hold until we reached Psyche.

* * *

Complacency kills, I found out. I was not expecting any attacks after my last two trips. That was a mistake. On our 4th day out of Moria a blast rocked the ship, a large blast. A Romulan _V-7_ class cruiser had de-cloaked right behind us and planted a pair of photon torpedoes into and through our aft shields. We weren't going anywhere. My ship was crippled, and dead in the water. The 'warp 12 trick' was useless against the speed of photon torpedoes. The Romulans quickly boarded us. Then I recognized the commander who led the boarding party.

"So, we meet again," commander Relar said.

"Apparently we can't get enough of each other," I retorted.

"But allow me to introduce myself to your new crew. I'm commander Relar of the Tal Shiar," he replied hoping to cause extra fear in us.

"So?" Toki asked.

"A feisty one, you have here. Not as feisty as that winged one I was after," Relar replied. Not waiting for an answer he went on, "as you can see I have a more powerful ship, and with it I expect to extract payment for all the trouble you've caused." A _V-7 `White Wind'_ was a modern light cruiser, capable of standing toe to toe with the best. "Once I deprive you of your cargo, I'm going to leave you on some god-forsaken rock!" With that the sound of transporters echoed throughout the ship.

"Winged one?" Toki asked.

"The angel Razia," I explained. Everyone aboard knew that tale, except the other Romulans.

"Right, got'cha."

Relar had left, instructing the two guards that he left behind to shoot us if we made any sudden moves. As soon as the transport was complete a tractor beam enveloped the _'Sister_. We were being dragged along to our new destination, wherever that was. Eventually the two Romulans were looking bored. With the flick of my wrist a new type one phaser dropped into each of my hands. Two quick blasts later and the Romulans were history. Now about taking out the Romulans on the cruiser ... with just the 6 of us.

* * *

It turns out that we didn't have to. As we were arming ourselves with phaser rifles, and figuring Nergat's strategy, a call came in. Apparently the artificial Mek-Tac bodies were tough. No wonder that the Orions used them as slaves! As soon as they materialized on the Romulan cruiser they ran amok, attacking the crew, liberating weapons, and within ½ an hour they had swept through the ship, killing, or disabling all the Romulans on board and had effectively captured the ship! They contacted us, and I was beamed aboard the _White Wind_. Relar had survived. Now it was my turn to gloat.

"Surprise!" I said to Relar. "You were expecting a cargo of dilithium, weren't you? Sorry to disappoint." No I wasn't. But I did resist the urge to shoot him out of spite. Then, on second thought, I blasted him into sleepy-land anyway. I was _not_ planning on making the same mistake as he did. All of the surviving Romulans were basically carted into a cargo hold and kept sedated by phaser, until we could dump them on the nearest inhabitable planet. It took some time to figure the romulan controls, but K'tee could translate for us. We parsed out the consoles and figured out the basic bridge controls, as well as those of the transporter. We found a class-M planet, and transported the Romulans down. Finally, we settled into the _White Wind_, and towed the crippled _7__th__ Sister_ to New Psychonia.

* * *

Sailing into the New Psychonia System with an uncloaked Romulan cruiser was sure to stir up a hornet's nest. Every patrol craft in the PDF were being scrambled to try to intercept us. The Psychon Defense Fleet was not a large one, consisting of small but modern patrol craft. All twelve of them, were going to meet us in a staggered formation. Not good planning. They should have grouped into one or two squadrons at a rendezvous point then intercepted in mass. This way if I were really an attacker, I could easily wipe out the entire fleet in ones and twos, and would arrive over the planet more or less intact. I think I'd better tell them that and make sure that some drills happen before the next time. If they join the Rim Worlds with an up and running shipyards that would make this system one of the first targets for a hostile power.

The first ship to come into range was the _Unstar_, under captain Treva.

"K'tee, can you get the comms up and running?" I asked.

"Just a sec," K'tee replied. "These Romulan bands... got it."

The bridge of the _Unstar_ came up on the forward view screen. "Greetings, captain Treva," I said.

"Stephen Michael, what are you doing on board a Romulan vessel?" Treva asked.

"Stealing it actually," I replied. "We relieved the Romulans' of their ship when they boarded mine, and have temporarily re-named it _Sister's Prize_. We are taking it to the shipyards and are going to activate a dry-dock bay. Then we are going to repair the _'Sister_. After that we are going to purge and rebuild the computers and controls of this ship."

"I think that the Ruling Council might have an objection to having a private warship hanging around. Even in your capable hands."

"They'll have to wait until I tell them my plans for it. I'll try to leave out the maniacal laughter," I answered, trying to keep a straight face. "You might as well escort me in since you're here, and we are going to need to talk to your commander about serious flaws in his multi-ship tactics."

* * *

We sailed to the first dry-dock of the shipyards. The Elders had already started to reactivate it, and with the influx of crew the process was complete in a couple of days. I was busy discussing my plans with the Ruling Council, and berating the PDF commander. Then I returned to the shipyards, where they just started repairs on the _'Sister_. She would be down for a mere 3 weeks. The Mek-Tacs were _fast_. I expected the severity of the repair to cause at least 3 months down time!

Time to go to New Psychonia for some R&R. A construction company had finished a rustic but large cabin retreat in a forest clearing on my patch of land. It was time to go on a vacation. The second week at my cabin brought visitors. K'tee, Toki, and Parna dropped in for a visit, A little bit of shop talk but mainly for some barbecue and a chance to plant paws on some soft soil. A two-day visit turned into a two-week visit, as Parna absolutely loved the forest, and rustic nature of my camp. Mock hunts in the forest, wood fires both in the woodstove and the barbecue pit, real meat. Prying him loose from here was going to be a problem! But sure enough the call came in from Ellen, and we returned to the shipyards. The _'Sister_ was repaired, and the refit of the Romulan cruiser had begun. Since we are only installing new computers and bridge consoles, the main work was reprogramming. I moved the auto-teacher into the dry-dock offices, and hooked it to the Romulan computers. With any luck, I could parse the Romulan code from them, after learning the Romulan language.

* * *

No joy there. At least I didn't fry my brain, but alien computers, other languages, and me don't mix. It looked like we would have to reverse engineer the ship and program our computers from scratch. That could take a while. Then both K'tee and Ellen volunteered to try the auto-teacher. Ellen had an awesome mind and K'tee could speak Romulan. K'tee got the next crack at the Romulan computers. A week later we had parsed out the code, and were writing new programs on our Federation based computers, while the engineers were interfacing them with Romulan technology. Three weeks after entering dry-dock, the _Phantom_, under the New Psychonian flag, was ready for her first shakedown cruise. The crew consisted of about ¼ of the Mek-Tacs (the rest remained to continue the activation of the shipyards), and a loaned crew from one of Amek's ships joined the 6 of us. The _Phantom_ would be understaffed, which was the main reason for the computer swap. We would be putting many systems under automation.

* * *

One week into our flight and we were still working out bugs on the fly. But at least the transporters and the cloaking device were working fine. We could proceed to Moria. This time, we would be sneaking into the system under cloak, and planning on a big evacuation. Every spare space that wouldn't interfere in the running of the ship would be filled with Mek-Tacs. That would mean thousands of them instead of a mere three hundred that the _'Sister_ could hold. After the second week we slipped unnoticed into the Moria system, and snuck into geostationary orbit. There we began two tasks, transporting aboard as many as would fit, and passively scanning the Orion complex and surrounding space for as much intelligence as we could get. This was going to take a while, as too many simultaneous or serial transports would be detectible on sensors. The last thing we needed was Orion patrol craft doing a grid search for us.

The first two days went by without a hitch. We had beamed up over four thousand Mek-Tacs, taking up just under 2/3 of the ships available room. In another day and a half we would be finished with our transports.

"Status change." Ellen reported from her science station. "Two Orion patrol craft are lifting off from the surface."

"Keep an eye on them, Ellen. Nergat, plot a retreat out of this system, just in case." I ordered. We would continue as long as we could. Those ships could be simply on a routine patrol of the system.

The ships rose to geostationary orbit and then proceeded to travel along it. "Their scanners just went full active. They're looking for us!" Ellen warned.

"Brent, break us out of orbit. Nergat..." I replied.

"Course laid in. We're good to go."

"Then time to go." Before I could order Brent, a barrage of disruptor fire surrounded the ship. They were firing blind, but had pretty well figured out our position. As we left one beam made a lucky hit. The ship rocked, some minor damage made it through the hull, but the cloak held and we disappeared into the vastness of the outer system. It was time to go home.

* * *

Two weeks later we were back at our shipyard, with a large contingent of fresh workers, eager to start. We now had a decision to make. Do we risk another trip to Moria under cloak? I decided against it. That, I felt, was a good way to get my new ship shot out from under me.

Besides, there was a new mission for the _7__th__ Sister_.


	5. Silent Running

**5: SILENT RUNNING**

Half-way between New Psychonia and Tholian space a new gravitic anomaly had been detected. Now that in it self would not raise an eyebrow, since spacetime seemed especially thin here on the Rim, and especially near Tholian space. The particular interest of this one is that it is twice as close to New Psychonia and any other ever detected. And the Psycons have been space faring for over a thousand years. The _Phantom_ had already gone on a second run to Moria, and I expect that mission to be a nail-biter. The lucky 7 of us had embarked in the _'Sister_ to explore the anomaly, on a specific request from the Ruling Council. So off we went in the opposite direction to that of the _Phantom_. The _'Sister_ was perfect for the job. She was already fitted with a gravitic array, which was modified at the shipyard to work in a variety of gravity bands. Our job was to traverse the 34 parsecs to the anomaly, and begin studies. An 11 day trip at warp 9 or a 14 day trip at warp 8. We decided to take the two weeks. As usual, when going from a friendly planet to nowhere in particular, the trip was uneventful. It's usually only when you are headed to an 'unusual' (read lawless) place did things happen on the trip. We arrived at the anomaly and began our research run.

"Yes, that's definitely a rift," Ellen finally concluded. We were here two days collecting data. We even tried firing our gravitic array at it to no avail. "Somehow, we are getting absolutely zip for data from the other side. We need a probe." Luckily we brought a few small ones with us. Unluckily that meant going into the bowels of the ship unloading a torpedo or two out of the magazine, and replacing them with the probes.

"Oh, joy," I replied. "You know what that means don't you?"

Ellen just gave me a wicked grin. It was Marie and me who had to do the crawling around, as we were the qualified engineers on board. Did I mention it gets pretty warm in those Jefffries tubes? A couple hours later we had configured two probes, and spent another hour crawling around the bowels of the ship. I emerged sweaty but triumphant, while Marie wasn't affected at all. I was grabbing a shower before anything else happened. Ah, it's good to be the captain!

Back on the bridge, we launched the probe. Ellen checked on its telemetry and guided it into the rift. As soon as it crossed the event horizon, all telemetry stopped. So we waited ... and waited.

"So how long have we been sitting here?" I asked.

Nergat replied, "18 minutes since the probe disappeared, captain."

"Ellen, how long after contact was lost should the probe start its back-out maneuver?"

"After 10 minutes. It should have come back here 8 minutes ago," she replied. "There's absolutely nothing from the other side of this rift. Or the probe didn't make it..." Ellen trailed off.

The possibility that the rift simply destroyed the probe was rather high. It might not actually _go_ anywhere! We didn't have an unlimited supply of probes, so we needed to think of something else. "Let's have supper and tackle this later," I suggested.

"Oh I'm in!" K'tee responded. Her appetite amazed me. She could eat as much as Toki and Parna combined, and never gained an ounce. And no, Toki had already checked for a tapeworm. K'tee was just always hungry. It was off to the lounge on deck 2.

During dinner we decided to sleep on it and make a decision in the morning, about what to do next, so se all retired early.

* * *

Creeaaak. WHAMMO. I was pretty sure that I ricocheted off the ceiling before crashing to the deck of my cabin. I was wide-awake and well bruised. "Computer lights," I ordered. As the lights came up to mid level I noticed every loose item was knocked about. I was sure I wasn't personally targeted. I threw some clothes on and headed for the bridge. K'tee and Toki had beat me there. We rolled in and took up our stations. I fired up the view screen, but I didn't like what I saw.

A curtain of reddish aurora filled the screen. There were no stars, no planets or any other recognizable things to get a fix on.

"OK, where are we?" I asked.

"We ... are precisely ... nowhere!" Ellen replied. Her voice started to show signs of panic.

"Is that inside the rift?" I tried to break the building panic in Ellen's voice.

Ellen checked the scanner log, and rationally replied, "Yes we are. Apparently the rift suffered a cataclysmic expansion, and engulfed the ship. We appear to be inside that rift. Out sensors indicate that our probe is 10 kilometers behind us and is adrift. Link has been re-established."

"Good. Let's bring it in and download its telemetry." _So much for a good night's sleep_, I thought. The probe didn't tell us anything more than our own sensors did, except that it had been here longer. The aurora seemed to be a manifestation of the pocket universe's space-time edge, while this reality appeared to be utterly empty. The physics were way off of what I expected. We had to recalibrate the warp drive in order to bring it on line, and after doing that, we left a probe as a reference point and started to move away from it.

"Probe fading behind, range 0.1 parsec," Ellen replied after we had traveled away from the probe. At warp 9, each 0.1-parsec would take 43 minutes to cross.

"Go to warp 12," I ordered. Now each 0.1parsec would take 27 minutes to cross. Maybe we would get some results before I died of old age.

"Sporadic sensor reading to starboard," Ellen, stated.

"Log it and continue on present course," I replied. We can get to it later, I thought. 90 minutes later and we had an answer.

"Signal detected ahead ... It's our probe!" Ellen exclaimed.

"Not that unexpected," I replied. I went on, "This is a pocket universe, after all, and I did expect it to be a closed one. What we just determined is how big it is. Just over 0.8 parsecs in diameter."

"And utterly empty," Ellen replied.

"Well, maybe not. Lets go check out those sensor readings that you found." I replied.

* * *

Four hours later we were flying in formation with four other starships. They were an _Avenger_ class heavy cruiser, two _Knox_ class light cruisers, and a _Ross_ class transport / tug. There were no life signs aboard any of the ships. They were still flying together, their engines silent, and their running lights eerily dark. _What the hell happened here_, I thought. Outwardly the ships looked intact. I had a sense of foreboding come over me.

Ellen, Toki, Nergat and I transported over to the Avenger, the lead ship. Soon it became apparent what happened to the crew. Their twisted bodies, at each other's throats, Indicated that the crew had apparently went mad and had killed one another. We beamed back to the _'Sister_. A landing party sent to each of the other ships revealed exactly the same thing. When the last group returned to the _'Sister_, a solemn gloom settled over the crew.

"I wonder what happened?" Ellen finally asked.

"Interphase disease." I replied.

"OK, what the hell is interphase disease, and what can we do about it?" Nergat finally asked, after a pause.

"On the _'Sister_, nothing," I replied. "Interphase disease was first discovered, near Tholian space by the way, stardate 5694, by the _U.S.S. Enterprise_. The crew of the _Defiant_, was found dead, afflicted by the disease. The gravitic disruptions tear apart the neural connections in the brain, slowly driving the crew insane." Of course, the other side of this rift was near Tholian space too.

"Is there a cure?" Toki asked.

"There is a treatment, but unfortunately, we don't have the necessary ingredients on board. The treatment is a dilute Theragen derivative."

"But ... but ... that's a Klingon nerve gas!" Toki exclaimed.

"Yes, yes it is," I replied. "But it has been field tested and it works. Unfortunately we can't replicate it aboard this ship. In about two days the neural changes will start..." I trailed off.

"Then I'd better find an alternative," Toki finally stated.

"And we'd better find a way out of here," I answered. "Nergat, you need to keep an eye on the rest of us. You're probably immune, and any carbon-based treatment won't work on you anyway. You will be needed to keep us in check."

* * *

Three days later, Toki had an answer. It was one of those good news - bad news kind of answers. The solution was copious quantities of alcohol, with a bit of curare in it, as well as a few other organophosphates. Basically we had to get drunk, and stay that way, as long as we were here. That would mean our thinking ability and coordination would be way down, and if we managed to get out, we might face some liver damage. And we'd really have to make sure the amount of curare and organophosphates was _little_. And the unaffected Nergat did notice that we all were becoming short tempered.

The alcohol wasn't a problem. I had a few cases of vodka stored with my latinum. The big problem would be the reduced effectiveness and the perpetual hangover.

4.26 days after we had entered the rift, there came a peculiar jolt. But unfortunately it was indeterminate.

"Put the gravity waves up on screen," I asked Ellen.

"New waves plotted." She replied. A pattern appeared on the screen, not immediately recognizable. I still felt that I had seen the pattern before...

"Ellen, plot that new gravity wave as a mirror image and compare to when we entered the rift," I commanded, through my fuzzy mind.

The plot was soon up on the main screen. They matched. "A cyclical resonance," I finally stated.

"Can you explain that?" Nergat asked.

"It appears that every 4.26 days the rift actually opens in a flare of gravtic energy. We can get out of here," I checked the chronometer, "now in 4.24 days."

"So we park in the right spot and wait for the rift to spit us out?"

"Yes, exactly," I finally slurred.

* * *

By the next time that the rift was ready to open, we were waiting right in the spot that we entered. We spent the last four days going back and forth to the fleet, reprogramming the ship's prefix codes and restarting their engines. Nergat was left running the transporters, as the rest of us didn't trust our reflexes. For the first time in my life going on a bender was definitely _NOT_ fun. But we managed to get our fleet to the waiting point and as soon as the rift pulsed, we found ourselves back in our own universe. It was time to get the hell out of here.

* * *

It took us about three days to sleep off the effects of Toki's concoction. Nergat kept the fleet running straight during that time. Do Hortas sleep? One of these days I will have to ask him. We recovered fine, and after Toki dragged us one by one to sickbay for a medical, we returned to work and the ship returned to normal. Everybody was fine. Our fleet was headed back to New Psychonia at a leisurely warp 5, as we didn't want to push or luck with no longer dormant engines.

It took us 42 days to get home. As soon as we crossed over the warp wall, captain Treva was waiting for us, the whole PDF fleet in tight formation. They were learning. As we opened a channel, and Treva's face appeared on the view screen, I said, "Hi honey, I'm home! And look what the cat dragged in."

"What the ... leave you alone for a few weeks and you come back with another ship! Four ships this time! And how did you manage that?" Treva was astonished.

"They were caught in the rift we were sent to check out. Their crews didn't make it. Interphase disease took them out. We were lucky to get out with our minds fairly intact." There was no telling how many brain cells we killed off while on Toki's concoction. "We reset their controls and flew them back on remote. Now they need to be gone over at the space yard."

"Well, there's some news for you as well. The _Phantom_ got found and into a firefight with the Orions. She's back, but is still in dry-dock undergoing repairs. They only got 1900 out this time." Treva reported. That meant that there was a little colony of about 6000 Mek-Tacs occupying the shipyard.

"That's better than a kick in the teeth," I replied. "How long until she's repaired?"

"About another month." That told me that she had barely made it out. I knew going back would be a bad idea, but now a worse one came to mind. _Total war_...


	6. The Mines of Moria 2

**6: ****THE MINES OF MORIA (pt 2)**

By the time the _Phantom_ was ready to roll, the Mek-Tacs had opened up two other dry-docks, and had brought in the _Avenger_ and one of the _Knox_ class light cruisers. It turned out that the _Avenger_ had been modified specifically for rift exploration. The mega-phaser turrets had been replaced with a pair of gravitic arrays, not unlike the one on the _7__th__ Sister_. The transport had carried a pod full of supplies, to provide the fleet with a long duration of exploratory cruising. Going through the logs, it turned out that ship did carry the necessary supplies against interphase disease, and that we were incredibly lucky. It turns out that the resonant flashes only occur for a brief time after the rift was affected by a gravitic array _from this universe_. Once inside you have about 5 or 6 tries to get out before you are trapped permanently. After that those unfortunate crews were trapped, and once their supply of Theragen ran out it was only a matter of time before madness set in. Having missed their escape opportunity, the crews were doomed.

* * *

The original names of the ships were scrubbed before the rift mission for reasons unknown. We couldn't even notify next of kin! A service was held for the fallen crews, and the remains were cast into the depths of space, according to naval tradition. It was a solemn occasion, with the PDF and the shipyards crew in attendance. After the service I sent a message to Section-31.

Other than that, beyond refitting the life support with new tissue culture, replacing worn out dilithium crystals and refueling, the ships were ready to roll. We now had 1 heavy cruiser – missing its mega-pahsers, 3 light cruisers, 1 with a cloak, and 1 armed transport / tug, carrying a cargo pod. The _Ross_, designed after the General War, carried the armament of a heavy destroyer, including photons. That was quite the fleet! We spent a week refitting the _Avenger_, adding a bank of normal phasers in place of the gravitational arrays, and configuring the cargo pod to carry as many Mek-Tacs as it could.

It was time to unveil my plan. It was simplicity itself. Take the entire fleet back to Moria, pound the Orions into submission, and take back the planet. To fully crew the 5 ships required about 2000 crew, ⅓ of the population of Mek-Tacs aboard the shipyards. We'd just waltz over to Moria, blockade the planet and start shooting the bad guys. Now the devil was in the details...

* * *

I had set my flag upon the bridge of the _Avenger_, which I simply dubbed it that. The ships computer only had itself listed as Ship-1 and the call sign was 31-A. Our other ships were titled _Knox 1 (31-C)_, _Knox 2 (31-D)_, _Ross (31-B) _and, of course, the _Phantom_. After some fleet exercises, in which I took on the rank of Commodore, we were ready. The fleet had set sail for Moria, and we had a score to settle.

_Somebody is 'gonna' pay_.

* * *

We thundered across Moria's warp wall in all or glory, heading in to the planet under full impulse. The _Phantom_ faded from view as it cloaked, its mission to intercept and destroy any reinforcements that reach the system. The rest of us closed on the planet, looking for a fight. The fight we got was rather brief. The patrol ships engaged, but were way outmatched. We "smoked them like a cheap spliff", wiping them out without even having to slow down to engage. Both the _Avenger_ and the _Ross_ had photon torpedoes, and the two _Knoxs_ still mounted their mega-phaser cannon. Then we took up orbital positions around the planet with a pair of starships in geostationary orbit above the Orion surface installation. After a few scans, I had some information for the Mek-Tac elder council, who were onboard.

"We have the planet surrounded. There is a freighter on the surface, totally shut down, but still with its anti-matter fuel on board. A single torpedo would annihilate the Orion base ... " I informed them.

"But..." They sensed I had not told them something vital.

"But hitting it would produce a blast in the 100 Gigaton range. That would leave a crater about 20 km in diameter."

"Only as a last resort," they replied. A discussion amongst the elders ensued, and finally I had my rules of engagement. While we were blockading the planet the Ross would stand off and use her transporters to beam up as many Mek-Tacs as she could.

* * *

As sure as stink in a space suit, reinforcements arrived in the system. It started as a series of blockade-runners, not much larger than the _'Sister_. They didn't stand a chance. As soon as they appeared in the system the _Phantom _quickly dispatched them.

But the base would not answer our demands for surrender. Soon I was again in council with the Elders and they wanted a direct channel to the Orions. Reluctantly, I agreed, asking K'tee to set it up.

The direct negotiations did not go well. Regardless of what concessions that the Mek-Tac elders were willing to make the Orions were having none of it. Eventually talks broke off with no agreement.

* * *

It was after a couple of days of silence that we found out why the Orions were stalling. It wasn't until a photon torpedo slammed into the tugs pod that we knew they were there. A salvage cruiser had de-cloaked and fired on her. With the _Ross_' shields now up she would not be using her transporters! The big question was, are they alone?

We were on full alert and were running full scans. The Orions' cloak was _good_. We soon fond out that he wasn't alone, and the other ships cloaking devices were not so good. There were 6 of them in all. What they were waiting for was anybody's guess.

"There are communications going on between the Orion cruiser and the base," K'tee interrupted my thoughts. "It seems that they are ... negotiating."

"As long as they are not shooting that gives us time to zero them in if we can. Ellen, see how much you can crack those cloaks," I ordered.

A few minutes later and Ellen exclaimed, "Got it! Set scanners for this gravitational frequency!"

"K'tee, tell the other ships. Use the beer channel," I advised.

I had set up the "beer channel" on subspace frequency B-24, simply because nobody – _and I mean nobody_ – uses it! It's such a crappy channel you need the power of a starship to punch a message through on it but for coordinating a fleet it was perfect, because it was so overlooked. Nobody uses any of the first bands A-E if they can avoid it.

Five of the six ships were dialed in, and the Phantom had moved in to cover for the remaining Orion. They were in for a surprise if they decided to fight. Apparently the negotiations were successful. The entire formation that we could see was turning towards the _Avenger_. I assumed the salvage cruiser was with them.

"Form up on the _Ross_. K'tee, have the _Knoxs_ move forward into flanking positions," I ordered. We were going to herd them into our photons. "Heat 'em up, and as soon as their energy signature changes, open fire!"

They were in for a big surprise. As soon as they powered up their weapons we were firing on four of their ships. The disadvantage of being cloaked is that your shields are busy _NOT_ defending your ship. When the other two ships de-cloaked to fire, the _Phantom_ also de-cloaked. As the salvage cruiser fired on us, the _Phantom_ planted two photon torpedoes, and a plasma torpedo into its backside. The Orions' 'overwhelming' attack turned underwhelming. Our sheilds managed to absorb the hits, but just barely. They just had their Asses severely kicked. All ships able to do so were retreating, but two were smoldering wrecks. One was launching lifeboats, while the other either self-destructed, or suffered an overload. We left the lifeboats to land on the planet.

There was still no message from the Orions. _This is going to be a long blockade,_ I thought. That also meant there were more ships inbound.

* * *

The next fleet to land in the system was a trio of Klingon D-7 type cruisers. That was puzzling, but Klingon mercenaries weren't unheard of, especially from the IKS. They were apparently not yet under contract, and had sized their opposition up first. They meekly left the system when we challenged them, in un-typical Klingon fashion!

Then nothing happened for another week. We had to stand down from alert, and I was sure that something nasty was inbound...

* * *

The sensors detected seismic events coming from the planet's surface. We quickly determined that the Orions had used nuclear weapons in the tunnels, to kill all the Mek-Taks under their control.

I had to be the bearer of bad news. "The Orions have detonated ... a series of nuclear weapons ... under the ground near their base."

"What are the effects?" The elder council asked.

"They destroyed ... all of them..." K'tee out.

"All of them what?" They asked.

"All of the Mek-Tacs, _all of them in their vicinity_. They killed them all." I finally said.

"Nobody's left?" The council asked incredulously. They had not expected the Orions to be that brutal.

"There are no Mek-Tac life signs within 100 km from the Orion base." Ellen interjected. "The nukes took them out. All of them."

It was the straw that broke the camel's back. "Take them out!" The council ordered.

"Arm photon torpedoes, and target the grounded freighter!" I ordered.

"Torpedo ready," Nergat replied.

"Fire!"

The _Avenger_ spat out a torpedo, targeted on the shut down freighter at the Orion base. It was right on target. The Freighter disappeared in a fireball fed by its own anti-matter stores. The entire installation, as well as anything within 25 km from the freighter ceased to exist. The fireball was easily visible from space. Two hours later when the mushroom cloud dissipated, there was a crater where the Orion mine used to be.

The Mek-Taks were free. The Orion oppressors were vaporized with their installation. The blockade prevented reinforcements from arriving, but the environmental toll on the planet was heavy, as the nukes the Orions used were particularly dirty. The Orions had a scorched earth policy, and the planet's surface was coated with a layer of fallout. The best scenario was a total evacuation of the Mek-Tacs to a new location. That location was already available to receive them. 100 000 Mek-Tacs were beamed aboard the pod and sent to their new home in the New Psychonia system. The other ships were left to cover the planet in case the Orions returned. The Transport ferried the Mek-Tacs to their new home in a dozen relays, and cleared the planet of anything of value. The best veins of dilithium were mined and the raw materials put on the ships with the people. After Three months in evacuation mode the planet was finally left behind. A contingent tasked with building a fortified mine was the only folks left behind, with the _Phantom_ providing the role of system patrol. When the space-lift was completed, over 1 million Mek-Tacs were relocated to their new home on New Psychonia's sister planet, now officially called New Moria. The star Psyche now shone upon two inhabited planets.

I returned to New Psychonia, again, as a hero. There were parades, and interviews, and all sorts of crap that I was not used to. The third relay had brought the population of New Moria up to over 300 000. The shipyards were fully occupied and the planet was being settled. Amek played up his role in this rescue, and I couldn't really blame him. He had bankrolled the initial rescue after all. I shifted the credit onto him so I could fade back into the background and return to a normal life, with my friends. But then, how do you define a normal life? I now have an entire fleet to deal with, and a bureaucracy that had just entered the Rim worlds Confederacy.

I returned to my cabin, K'tee and family, as well as Ellen and Nergat, just to get away from it all. The forest appealed to the Caitians, while Nergat could get along with any rock formation. It was definitely time for a vacation. The paperwork could wait, and that was the main reason my office was on an old mining ship on the other side of the planet.


	7. New Orleans is Sinking

**7: NEW ORLEANS IS SINKING**

A flurry of activities went on in and around New Psychonia during the following weeks. Ellen picked up an apartment in Silverton, and dropped into the cabin from time to time. I was occasionally shuttling back and forth to the space yards, supervising a rebuild of the Avenger. An entire section of hull was being removed from the aft port cargo bay. Power conduits needed to be rerouted, life support systems altered, internal structure strengthened. A massive set of docking clamps was being installed.

Amek had finished negotiations with the Rim Worlds Confederacy, and the Rim Worlds had two new members. They were the twin planets of New Psychonia and New Moria. The second planet was the new home of the Mek-Tac race, as well as the orbital shipyards. By the end of the new year it would be fully settled. A few patrol ships would be left at Moria, while the tug did the ferrying. The rest of the fleet was here. Even with a small population of just over 1 million, New Moria was granted full membership. The survivors of the Orion's rule were a mere fraction of the nearly 8 Million Mek-Tacs that had inhabited the original Moria, before the Orions came. Moria would be uninhabited in less than 12 months, and the dilithium in storage on New Moria.

* * *

The Rim Worlds Confederacy doesn't get involved with a planet's internal politics. The PDF was even left as the in-system police force, answering only to the Ruling Council. The newly acquired fleet was merged into the Rim Worlds Confederate Navy, and put under the command of an inhabitant of New Psychonia. When I stepped aboard the Avenger for it's christening ceremony I was sporting my new fancy white dress uniform.

"Commodore on deck!" The boatswain announced as I was piped in.

The science officer, Commander Ellen greeted me, with a snappy salute. I returned it while we both were trying to keep a straight face. We were trying to keep up appearances for some of the transferees from Calamain. Experienced navy personnel and not my "extended family", they would eventually have to get used to my informalities on the bridge.

"Permission to come aboard." I announced under naval tradition. It wasn't really a question.

"Permission granted, sir," Ellen replied.

"Good to see you again." I gave Ellen a hug, as she has been stuck aboard for the last 6 weeks getting the ship ready. "The Champagne is inbound on a collision course. We should get up to the observation deck."

The current bridge party, Ellen and myself entered the turbo lift together. The only two on the ships new "A-shift" were Ellen and myself. The rest were still hanging around in a rustic log cabin and running around my woods ...

We all waited patiently on the observation deck. Then into view, came ...

A bottle. When the bottle reached the hull it shattered and a foamy liquid spewed everywhere. I announced, "I christen thee the _R.C.S. Faraway Quest_. In service of the Rim Worlds Navy as of Stardate 13188.5"

The official ceremony over, I got the 'official tour' of my new command. A few changes had occurred since the fighting in the Moria system.

The ship proudly sported its name on the hull and its call number: "R.C.S. Faraway Quest, RNS-9001." It was the first of the '9000' series, as the Rim Worlds navy would call her. It was also the first full 5th generation starship in the Rim Worlds Navy. In fact, our tiny fleet was the first 5th generation fleet! The torpedo armament was unaltered, and she sported the 'hot round magazine' in the roll bar. This was a store of torpedoes pre-loaded with their anti-matter warheads. As long as we had hot rounds, we could double our torpedo's rate of fire. The wing phasers were upgraded from two to four standard shipboard phasers in each wing, instead of the normal two mega-phaser turrets. We still did not have a source of mega-phaser emplacements. In addition to this was the standard heavy cruiser saucer armament of a dozen standard phasers, to bring the total to 20. Her fighting capacity was still topnotch. Set up for a small crew which was 50% Mek-Tacs, we still had enough cargo space to run long duration missions. The addition of a special docking bay made the changes complete. The _7th Sister_ was docked in the external bay where the port aft cargo bay used to be. I had a 'spare starship' built in as well as a complement of shuttles. The avenger sported two shuttle bays; the first contained a standard compliment of shuttles, pinnaces and boats, while the second had a trio of Thunderbolt class attack fighters. Now I had to wait for my new X.O.

His information preceded him

Name: John J. Gardner

Race: Human

Home Planet: Caractacalla

Physical description: Height 1.7m. Weight...

Brief History: Apparently one of Grand Admiral Halfview's students, John had worked his way up to Captain, but was willing to give up his command for the X.O.'s spot on the _'Quest_.

Current Assignment: Captain, _R.C.S. Argentine_, _Mann Class_

As soon as everybody was recalled to the space dock we were underway. Our first destination was the shipyards of Calamain itself. We had a special team of engineers onboard, a team tasked with refitting a ship currently under construction. That ship was the _Confederate Union_, a battleship sized vessel. Her teething pains were many, and she has as of this time never left dry-dock. The engineers were tasked to finally get that ship up and running, and then to refit it to generation 5 standards. Actually my second mission within the Rim Worlds Navy was to bring their standing fleet up to some level of standards, or at least some level of competence. As it stood, the fleet was as varied as a museum crawl.

Ships as old as 3rd generation flew alongside 4th generation ships, which were now considered to be aging vessels. The Federation itself was transitioning to generation six, and the other major powers were following suit. The 5 vessels from New Psychonia were all current generation 5 ships, standard line cruisers. The Rim Worlds Confederacy as well as many minor powers, such as the A.O.F.W., the O.F.M.A., and the rim worlds to name a few, generally were about a half to a full generation behind, as many ships that are in their service are surplus vessels from the major powers.

But the Rim Worlds had been amiss. Besides the _Confederate Union_, much of their fleet had been the victim of 'benign neglect' in order to save on costs. Thus the fleet was a hodge-podge of vessels spanning a century of innovation, from original versions of _Mann_ class cruisers, to _Loknar_ class light cruisers, and a few more modern patrol vessels thrown in for good measure. That explained why my new X.O. was willing to transfer to the _'Quest_ as X.O. And why he was delayed. The old ship could only do warp 5.5 flat out. We sent out orders to rendezvous at Calamain.

Thus my second rank within the Rim Worlds Navy: Sky Marshal. There were only a few sky marshals in existence, and my placement was the 'bureau of ships'. With a new shipyard that was self trained on two different nations 5th generation systems, we had the perfect refit system. Now to get that knowledge to the other shipyards, I thought as we sliced through the eternal darkness.

* * *

We eventually arrived at Calamain. The _'Quest_ was not as fast as the _'Sister_, topping out at warp 9.5 with a cruising speed of warp 8. That was pretty standard for a gen-5 ship, and the _Phantom_ had a similar speed regime. Much of the civilian traffic, and other ships didn't ply the space lanes at a faster speed than warp 5 or 6. The problem came when the navy ships weren't any faster, as pirates tended to be. I had an appointment with the base commander, Grand Admiral Moyesha Halfview.

In a sense Grand Admiral Halfview epitomized the Rim Worlds Navy. An incident with pirates deprived him of his right side. The artificial replacements solidified his resolve for the Navy, and he changed his name to match that resolve. The 5'9" Admiral before me would normally inspire awe in his men, but little did he know I was over 7 centuries old. I had been dead, twice, so I didn't fear any admiral that this universe could throw my way.

"Grand Admiral," I started with.

"Welcome to Calamain. Your reputation proceeds you," Halfview responded.

"Hopefully only good news," I replied.

"Yes it's good news. Apparently you seem to travel the galaxy and go around rescuing people. I can't think of a better calling for a naval officer..." He responded, finally

"Hey, It's all in a days work. From angels to cats, at least I can sleep with a clear conscience at night," I replied.

"So that's it," Halfview replied. "Were you a villain in your past life?"

"Not really, but I definitely was not cut out to be an assassin." I responded. "Although, at times I feel the need to kick some ass, and take names. If there are people in need, whoever they are, I have an urge to start shooting until the innocent are free. As long as I live, that's one my missions in life. The other half is to explore the unknown. Why did you think I called my ship the "_Faraway Quest_?"

"I didn't know, but with your reasons, I wish you well," Halfview responded. "Unfortunately, our political system seems to prevent cutting edge improvements to our ships. You have your sky marshals job cut out for you. At least these engineers can fix the _Confederate Union_, and get her into service."

That was the hope, at least. The _Confederate Union_ was supposed to be the flagship of the Confederate fleet. Supposedly the most powerful ship in the region. When all is said and done, her firepower was actually less than the _Faraway Quest'_s.

That was a problem. But not just with the _Confederate Uni_on, but with many of the Rim Worlds ships. An upgrade was desperately needed, and the starting point was the shipyards of New Moria. But the 'disease' of modern-ness needed to spread.

At least the chain of command had realized who I am and what I stood for. That was a small victory, but as usual, that was only a pyrric victory.

But I was only one individual. And Amek would only bankroll so much until there was a detriment to his shipping empire or for New Psychonia.

And no, I couldn't blame him. He had sacrificed as much as I had, if not more, for the cause. Eventually self-preservation had to kick in, and Ameks' cause had to be to his fleet of merchant ships to New Psychonia, since it was his original purpose in life.

That didn't mean Amek wasn't without his means. The main reason I was here was with Amek's generosity, and as an instrument of rescue, I needed the assist. At least I had established a track record. Even though the angel was a one-off, the prisoners of the 'dark tower' and the Mek-Tacs were an entire planetary rescue or two under my belt. And sure as stink in a space suit there were other folks in need of a rescue. It was my calling. But now we needed to rescue the Rim Worlds from itself.

* * *

Admiral Halfview had given me his blessing, which I took as the highest praise from the original Rim Worlds hierarchy. It was the people in the trenches, who were doing the good work of making the space lanes secure, who I needed to take care of, as best as I can. They were the folks who were putting themselves in harm's way to make the Rim Worlds secure.

Most of those who did the bulk of the navies work were doing it in the older ships – destroyers and cruisers. The more modern ships were all patrol vessels

But that meant that I needed to leave the _Faraway Quest_ behind. There were a 'pile' of ships, which needed upgrading, and somebody needed to go aboard those ships and catalogue the refits necessary. I selected my team, the Faraway Quest's 'E-team' to assist me. We left the safety of our flagship to join the crews of the oldest ships in the fleet. There was a contingent of engineers, mostly Mek-Tac, who were going to tour the fleet with yours truly.

That meant that we had to travel with the oldest ships of the fleet. But I had an ace-in-the-hole. The _Phantom_ was available, and equipped with a cloaking device. She was our silent escort while we evaluated those older ships of the Rim Worlds' fleet.

The first ship we were boarding was the _Baton Rouge_ class _R.C.S. New Orleans_. I actually had hope for that ship class. She was one of the main predecessors of the venerable Constitution class, and was top-of-the-line for her day. Her hull had a better layout than the contemporary _Valley Forge_ class of heavy cruiser. Going over the blueprints and specs of the ships we would be visiting, I definitely didn't like the light cruisers the Rim worlds had. The one exception were the half dozen or so of the _Loknar_ class. They were gen-4 and didn't need immediate attention. They also were about a third of the most modern part of the fleet.

* * *

We were on the ship's routine patrol route, with our hidden escort. That was a good thing too. I must have pissed off the Orions in this life, as well as in a past life, for they were all over us like a cheap suit. As the _R.C.S. New Orleans_ headed to the planet Zyra, the routine patrol was sure to be interrupted by somebody with ill intent.

* * *

The _New Orleans_ rocked from a torpedo hit. The Orion had been equipped with a photon torpedo launcher. Although a smaller ship, the Orion had better maneuverability as well as a tight armament for disabling ships like the _New Orleans_.

This would be an interesting fight, I thought. Here we have a 3rd generation heavy cruiser facing off against a 5th generation pirate raider the size of a frigate, about a third the tonnage of the _'Orleans_. I resisted the urge to say, "Lets get ready to rumble! And in this corner..."

The Orion ship carried two pairs of disruptors, and sports a heavy weapons mount forward, which has been known to be equipped with a variety of weapons, in this case, a fairly good copy of a Federation FP-5 photon torpedo tube. Lucky for us his cloaking device was either first generation or a poor copy of a later model, for now that we knew we were looking for a cloaked ship, she was fairly easy to spot, even with this ships old sensors.

Then our captain ordered the lasers brought up to full power. _Lasers?_ I thought. This ship was stock, straight out of the last century! And as an observer I was only along for the ride. Although I did outrank the captain, unless he did something critically foolish, my job was not to interfere, and neither should the _Phantom_. Her orders were to de-cloak if we suffered a critical hull breach. That meant that the next few minutes were going to be, for me, a nail-biter.

* * *

The fight was becoming dragged out. The _'Orleans_ couldn't force the engagement, with the much faster Orion, and the newer weapons on that ship gave them a critical range advantage. Despite that, except with landing the occasional torpedo hit, the Orion couldn't close to effective beam weapon distance without crossing into the range of the larger ships guns, and the sheer firepower of the cruiser kept the wolf at bay. Eventually the Orion simply gave up and left. The fight was rather anti-climatic.

We proceeded on our patrol. What else could we do? The _New Orleans_ couldn't chase down the pirate, as she wasn't nearly fast enough, and we couldn't force an engagement from any newer generation of ship. I wasn't going to send the _Phantom_ after her either, not with my seeming ability to attract trouble. There were even some civilian vessels capable of at least warp 9. With the _'Orleans_ maximum speed of warp 6, she was effectively useless as an anti-piracy vessel.

* * *

Zyra was a waypoint for the patrol. The planet was right on the edge of the claimed Rim Worlds territory, so many of the patrol ships made the trip here before turning toward the core of the Confederacy. Many ships did the Caractacalla, Zyra, Lorne route, while others did Calamian, Zyra, Thule. After checking the logs, it seemed only the older cruisers bothered. Ships like the _New Orleans_ or the even older _Mann_ class cruisers bothered with this route. The newer but smaller patrol vessels never bothered. They seemed to be busy zipping about the core worlds chasing after smugglers, and in general accomplishing little. The only modern ship to visit Zyra was the patrol ship that is stationed there. The current one, The _R.C.S. Brinks_, was a _Greer_ class, and one of the only three gen-5 ships in the fleet before me.

It was a surprise that we picked up a sensor blip in the system. It was sporadic and brief, but I recognized it immediately and stated as much. It was a ship activating its cloaking device. The question was who? I didn't think that Relar had managed to escape the planet I had stranded him on, so I ruled out Romulans in my mind. The bigger question was "was it related to the previous attack, and why was it here?"

"The best way to spring a trap is to walk into it," Captain Becker stated.

"Especially with our silent shadow," I replied. "What's worrying me now is where is the patrol ship that should be on orbital picket duty? The _Brinks_ is missing."

"If that Orion is here, then the _Brinks_ is in trouble." Thomas Becker was starting to become a little worried.

The natives of this planet practice a religion that spanned the centuries called _Vastianism_. A form of nature worship, all the plant and animal life was sacred, and is venerated. Harvesting crops and killing animals for food is allowed, but done with reverence, and the native Vastians feel bound to the planet, so never leave it. All non-natives are located on an island 800km from the mainland, where the lone spaceport is located. The locals feel that outsiders offend the spirits of the planet. Why would such a group even join the Confederacy? For protection, it seems. Bound to the planet, they wouldn't be able to leave the surface to defend them selves, as they couldn't function in spacecraft due to their phobias. Zyra allows the Confederacy to protect it while allowing a spaceport. Trade is limited, as the Vastians are pretty self-sufficient. Most exports are some minerals, and medical supplies are the main import.

* * *

As the ship moved in system, no trace of the picket was detected. As we passed the second planet, the Orions sprung their trap. A familiar cloaking signature was detected before the Orion raider appeared in our path. Then shortly after, two more Orions uncloaked. One was a large blockade-runner the size of a destroyer, and the other was a salvage cruiser, a large cross between a freighter and a warship. It would also sport a destroyer's firepower. I expected 6 to 8 beam disruptors and at least a pair of heavy weapons mounts each. I added it up in my head, and I didn't like the total. We had 8 laser banks and 2 heavy accelerator cannon. They would have at least 18 disruptors and could have as many as 5 photon torpedo launchers. It didn't take long to find out. The salvage cruiser opened up with a trio of pulse disruptors, while the blockade-runner fired a pair of torpedoes.

"Evasive to starboard!" Becker ordered. "Ben, get us out of here!" Captain Thomas Becker did not expect the trap to be this big! After the ship rocked from the blast and damage reports stated to come in, there was a relief as the science officer announced that the _Phantom_ had de-cloaked and planted a full spread into the blockade-runner, before re-cloaking. Both the salvage cruiser and the raider re-cloaked, but the blockade-runner was moving off uncloaked and under reduced power. It looked like it was in worse shape than we were.

And we were in rough shape. Aft and port aft shields were down, and we had major structural damage to the engineering hull. But at least our engines and weapons were up. Then we also got a break. The raider was trying to sneak across our bow under cloak. Little did he know we had spotted his cloak signature and could lock on with our weapons. We fired right at the optimal distance. 5 of our 6 lasers sliced down his starboard aft shields and the first accelerator cannon also hit. Since his shields were busy with the effort of cloaking, they offered no protection against our firepower. Two ships were immediately out of the fight. Whatever the Orions were doing here it apparently wasn't worth dying for. The salvage cruiser de-cloaked well off our port side. Were they going to run for it too? It didn't matter. The _Phantom_ also de-cloaked – she and the salvage cruiser were lying aft to aft. That did not bode well for the Orion. The _Phantom_ fired its aft torpedoes and a salvo of disruptors, just as the Orion spooled his impulse drive to maximum. It was running now with no aft shields and a few scorch marks on its hull.

* * *

We found the missing patrol vessel. She was under about half a kilometer of water 40 km from the spaceport. The spaceport was basically blasted back into the Stone Age, apparently from orbit. Not that it was much of a spaceport to begin with. There never is more than one other ship with the patrol craft at any give time so the spaceport consisted of a few warehouses and a small terminal building.

We called in for a rescue and rebuilding fleet. Then the _'Orleans_ beamed down its medical crew to the devastated spaceport. But I was still not satisfied. The Orions were here to defend something, and since there were only two planets in the system, I was pretty sure it wasn't on Zyra. That left the lone gas giant and its moons. We eventually headed to that planet, the second of only two planets in the Wellum system.

We quickly found the remains of an abandoned mine on the second moon of Wellum II. "It'll be a dilithium mine." I stated.

"And how could you tell that from here?" Thom asked.

"Because there's never that much latinum in one place to make the risk the Orions took pan out. The only thing nearly as valuable is dilithium. It's our version of the spice." A song popped into my head. _The spice extends life. The spice expands consciousness. The spice is vital to space travel_. Without dilithium, nobody would be able to produce a 4th generation or higher warp drive.

Sure enough I was right. The pirates had been running a clandestine mine right under our noses for over a year, based on the scans. And it turned out that they weren't Orions at all, just a local gang using Orion built ships. The spotty quality of their cloaking device copies meant that it only was a matter of time before they were spotted. Once they were they shot down the patrol ship and started to load up their dilithium. Then the _New Orleans_ showed up unexpectedly. They could outrun us but not hide what they had done. They were definitely not expecting a Romulan light cruiser to be with us. The battle was expected to be one sided in their favor. When the _Phantom_ de-cloaked, the tide immediately shifted out of their favor, and they decided to run for it and cut their losses.

There will have to be a lot of rebuilding. The _Phantom_ tractored the patrol craft off of the bottom of the ocean, and towed it to the remains of the spaceport. A crew had to assess it to see if it was worthwhile to tow it to a shipyard for a refit and repair. While we waited we decided to visit the local government council. Much to their chagrin, we took a shuttle and landed it on the continent right by their village. We were all heavily armed, so they didn't say much about it. We found out that the miners never bothered to contact them. They just shot down the patrol ship, bombed the spaceport, and left. The council was also relieved when we left as well. We were the patrol for Zyra until other ships could be re-assigned.


	8. Orion Rising

**8: ORION RISING**

We were sailing along on our patrol, when we rendezvoused with the _R.C.S. Endeavor_. The ship was the oldest in the fleet, an original _Mann_ class cruiser. We bid farewell to Thomas Becker and his crew, who were themselves headed back to Calamain for repairs.

My job was to see if a refit of the class was possible, as there were 13 _Mann_ class cruisers in the Rim Worlds Navy. The _Endeavor_ was now assigned as the patrol ship for Zyra. A larger but slower ship than the earlier patrol vessel, and the engineering team with myself were going aboard for 2 weeks to do our engineering study. Afterwards, we would return to Caractacala on board the _Faraway Quest_. By then my new X.O. would be on the bridge. This ship's C.O. was Commander Robert Acamar, a big burly man that stood over 2 meters tall. You definitely noticed his presence on the bridge. I spent most of the first ten days on board in the bowels of the engineering spaces. I was rather surprised when I was called to the bridge.

* * *

"What's up, Commander?" I asked.

"We're having visitors! The _U.S.S. Wonderland Hills_ is passing through the system shortly, and hailed a greeting. They apparently were on a scouting mission out past the rim and are coming back through Confederation space to Starbase 65."

"Going to invite their captain for dinner?" Robert was known for his appetite even in the short time I was aboard.

"I'm thinking about it. They probably have a few stories to tell," Robert Replied.

Soon enough we were flying in formation with a _Norton_ class heavy cruiser. Apparently they had a really interesting voyage, and were even willing to share data with the Confederacy. And if you left Robert's table hungry it was your own fault.

* * *

Now I had something new to ponder. I had written the _Mann_ class off as museum pieces. By the time she would be refit, you could build a new ship completely. At least the _Baton Rouge_, with her more conventional layout, could be refit. I even had a design in mind. The team still had four days until the _'Quest_ came, but I decided to study the new dataset. When the _'Quest_ arrived I was thoroughly intrigued by some of the data. I knew what I'd be spending my spare time on during our trip back to Caractacalla.

* * *

I finally met my X.O. as soon as I stepped onboard. He headed the bridge party, along with Ellen and K'tee. I could tell that Ellen had already broken in my new X.O. as the relaxed greeting showed.

"I hope you now know why I wanted off that tub, even if it meant taking an X.O.'s position under a commodore," John stated.

"Yes I do." I replied. "The engineering team is going to recommend all those _Mann_ class ships be put in mothballs. The _Baton Rouges_ can at least be easily refit."

"Really?"

"Well OK, not that easily, but warp 9.5, a dozen or 14 phasers, 3 torpedo tubes, new shields and force fields. The big question is getting Bu-ships to go along."

"Now that's a ship worth commanding!" John concluded. I had to agree, since it's my plan in the first place. The trip to Caractacalla was quiet, as I left John in charge on the bridge most of the trip back. He didn't seem to mind. I think he liked the fact that we were top-of-the-line out here, instead of always being the underdog.

* * *

Although I had some intriguing places now on my 'to visit' list, I found myself stuck in Union City mired down in bureaucracy. The Bureau of ships probably did not want to hear that the _Mann_ class was a write off (the standing conclusion of the engineering team was to mothball the lot at Calamain), but even worse, was my proposed refit of the _Baton Rouge_ class.

Go through the entire hull and upgrade the SIF generators. Add a 14-meter stretch to the engineering hull to accommodate a 5th generation warp core. That came with a bonus, replacing the SIF generators in the engineering hull would be a piece of cake with the hull apart for the stretch. Replace the weapons with phasers and photon torpedoes, including an aft tube. Upgrade the shields. Replace the nacelles and put in new support struts. The cost would be half of what it would cost to buy a new heavy cruiser, but at least a new heavy cruiser was _new_.

That was going to be a problem. Besides, the Bu-ships had already decided to buy 10 new _Decatur _class heavy cruisers from Federation shipyards. After an argument with them I actually accused the director of taking kickbacks! That went well, as I was ejected from the remainder of the planning session. Screw them. Somebody made me a Sky Marshal, so it's time to find out just what a Sky Marshal could do.

Reading well into the evening, I decided to go for a walk under the unfamiliar stars. The only thing that I could recognize was M-42 coming over the horizon. It was a majestic view. We were over twice as close to the nebula than old Earth. So this is what Orion Rising looks like from the Rim Worlds. I had never in the last three years seen it. The orientation of the sky at Silverton means that Orion doesn't rise above the horizon at all. The last time I really looked up was on a planet just after I met an angel. The next few hours drifted by, and I headed to a nearby tavern. After a few beers and a study of the role of Sky Marshal, I had my plan. Screw it and screw them. It's going to be my way or the highway!

I headed back to my office in the bureau of ships tower, wrote out some orders, and headed to the subspace radio room. I had a few messages to send off. A whole pile of ship movement orders went to Admiral Halfview at Calamain. Another set of orders went to the shipyards at New Psychonia and Wa-Lu. Then I beamed directly up to the _'Quest_ and went to bed.

* * *

I woke up the next morning late, took a leisurely shower, and sauntered onto the bridge. The command chair was empty, but the crew was busy at work. "K'tee, any new orders come in today?" I asked.

"Funny you should ask that. We received a rather interesting set of orders from Admiral Halfview earlier, while you were still sleeping. Should I put it up on the main viewer?"

"Sure. This should be entertaining at least," I answered.

The view screen changed from a planetary view to the face of Grand Admiral Halfview. "I don't know what games you're playing at 'commodore' but why are you wasting time with such roundabout orders? I'm going to put these orders this way. From Sky Marshal S. Michael to Commodore S. Michael, being one in the same via this Admirals office, you are hereby ordered to resume command of the _Faraway Quest_, and proceed out of the Rim Worlds Confederacy on an exploration mission past the Medusa Nebula. Good luck, commodore. And as a personal note, I read your orders and I hope you know what the hell you are doing, and the shit storm that may well ensue! Admiral Halfview out."

"Nergat, plot a course to the rim-ward edge of the Medusa nebula, warp 8, if you will." I Ordered. It was time to get out of Dodge, as it were. When they found out the Baron's minions would be furious. But the orders were sent, and they all were within my authority. I just didn't want to deal with the fallout and bullshit that would ensue. They can argue it our after the fact. If they didn't like it they shouldn't have made me a Sky Marshal.

There were two factions in the bureau of ships. One was a group of ministers basically under the orders of a Baron von Toerbach, based out of the world of Tallimatrix. The other one was a group under High Councilor Mikhail, the de facto "president" of the Confederacy. It was Mikhail's group that created the position of Sky Marshal in the first place. Now they had to live with its consequences.

* * *

The Medusa Nebula was an old and large planetary nebula lying just outside Rim Worlds territory. Although it was much closer, it wasn't any brighter than the Orion Nebula, when seen from most of the Rim Worlds planets. The _'Quest_ was passing beyond the Medusa Nebula and out into deep space, in a general heading towards the Orion Nebula, some 240 parsecs away. If we were actually going to reach it at warp 8, the journey would take us three months. Our destination was much closer. Some intriguing data about a star less than a month's travel time was what we were interested in.

The signals that the _Wonderland Hills _received indicated that there were some power sources operating there. What they were was still a mystery, and I needed something to do other than fighting bureaucrats. Why did I pick this planet out of the data the _Wonderland Hills _brought back? Simple. It was on a direct line between the Medusa Nebula and the Orion Nebula. I even named this mission in the log as _Orion Rising_.

* * *

Our trip out was uneventful. It took over a month, as I ordered a cruise speed of a 'leisurely' warp 7, being mindful that it was a full warp faster than the _Baton Rouge_ class cruiser's top speed. We reached the system and dropped to impulse. Running a detailed scan from the outer system we discovered 7 major planets, the second of which could be class M. Sure enough an energy signal was being emitted from there. Sensors pegged it as regular RF, a continuous wave radio transmission. As we settled into a high orbit about the planet we detected surface installations ... and an object in a lower orbit. The object was emitting the radio waves. It was an orbiting platform of some kind, pitted and old. It appeared that a solar powered beacon was the only thing in operation. There were no life signs aboard. The planet had a high level of ground radiation, and we decided to go down in a shuttle, which held protective gear. We had an older S-4 shuttle that had the ability to be set up as a small ground base, so we used it. Nergat was an obvious choice as the radiation was way below his tolerance level. K'tee and Toki, Ellen and myself rounded out the command crew. I was expecting an argument with John over heading the landing party myself, but he was fine with minding the ship. I also wanted Marie and Brent on board just in case, as the Mek-Tacs one weakness was radiation tolerance. In their natural state they had none as they descended from an aquatic species. That means that a few other crewmembers would need to be selected, in this case up to ten more personnel.

I decided to pull in Loran and Torak, both Psychons from the science department, and Ben, Rob, Rod and Phil from security. They were all humans from the Calamain contingent. Lastly Topal, a Vulcan engineer, also from Calamain. So the dirty dozen headed to the surface in the shuttle. Clearing the cloud cover we were flying over a vast desert. That was puzzling in itself. _Cloud cover over a desert? _

Soon enough a structure appeared on the horizon. As we approached we soon realized that we were looking at a bombed out wreck of some sort of military installation. We set down beside it and donned our radiation suits, and stepped out onto this planet for the first time. The installation was definitely military. There was a rusting but identifiable rocket launcher, its missiles poised to engage an enemy that was no longer there. We entered the building and found the control room. Blast holes and signs of combat in the distant past were everywhere. There were a few skeletons to be found. The species that lived here were about 3 meters tall, with one eye in the center of their skull, like a Cyclops. As the radiation was rather intense we didn't stay long, and returned to the shuttle.

We lifted off from the desert floor and headed to the next set of signals. A short time later we landed at the edge of a small city. The radiation levels were even higher here than the middle of the desert, so we were glad for our suits. The buildings were short and squat, made out of a variety of materials. They all looked like military buildings. Walls were thick, living spaces cramped, and entrances secure. We decided to cut our way into one. Again we found a Cyclops skeleton. The interior seemed to the cross between a house and a bunker, including an arsenal of now corroding weaponry. Throughout the city we found that every building had a military purpose! As we moved in we noticed the state of the buildings were increasing in damage and decay. The radiation level continued to go up. I was pretty sure what we would find at the center of the city. Sure enough a radioactive crater was there. Whoever attacked this city used an unusually dirty weapon. The age of the blast was between 2000 and 2200 years ago. The only reason for such intense radiation after all this time was the use of a salted nuke. We returned in silence to the shuttle. Very few words were spoken since our landing on the planet's surface. Nobody wanted to cut into the stillness that was everywhere. After decontaminations were finished we decided to a low fly-over of the rest of this continent. We flew 4000 m above the ground at a leisurely subsonic pace. We passed over three more cities, just like the one we explored. Each one had at least one nuke crater. We reached the northern extent of the continent, and then found an intact installation.

After landing the shuttle we found ourselves staring at an ancient corroded missile launcher, still standing guard for this base. Most of the weapon systems that we found, from handheld to the largest identifiable, were missile based.

There were only three surface buildings and we found the remains of three other launchers. There was a large pad at the center of the base. We decided to cut our way into one of the buildings. It led into an underground warren of tunnels. Eventually we reached the area under the pad at the center of the base. There were a cluster of missile silos, and one still had the remains of its missile. A quick scan indicated that the missiles warhead was nuclear and definitely was salted with materials that would leave massive radiation behind. The war here was definitely fought with a "scorched earth" policy.

We boarded our shuttle and decided to over fly the only other continent. We simply found more of the same. There were absolutely no living animals on the planet, and few hardy plants were the dominant form of life. As we returned to the _'Quest_, we saw the beautiful Orion nebula rising over the silent planet. This war world would be left as an example of what total war could do. We left orbit and were glad to be leaving this system behind. There would be no rescues here. The lone radio beacon was the planet's epitaph.

* * *

As soon as we left the system we received a subspace message. My presence was required on Caractacalla. The message was two days old, as there were no subspace relays here to boost the signal. But even at warp 9 this would be a 4-week trip. We were definitely got going to be returning that fast! We headed back to the Sketola system at warp 7. Even the direct line route would take six weeks.

Sure enough the board of directors for Bu-ships were in an uproar. I told them to check the legislation for the duties and powers of the Sky Marshal. Mikhail's group was probably quietly smirking at that but the director, one of Toerbach's men, demanded that I explain. I told him that that's what his secretary is for and if they had anything useful to say, I will be in my office during office hours. Then I got up and left

"You can't leave!" He roared. "We're not done yet!"

"Last time I checked you're just a bureaucrat and are not in my chain of command. If you want me to do something, call the Naval building. I'm sure you have the number somewhere. Until then you better remember that I'm a flag officer ... and I'm armed." With that I stormed out. Why did I ever take this job?


	9. Beauty Hides In the Deep

**9: BEAUTY HIDES IN THE DEEP**

I was thoroughly done with the Bureau of Ships. They had pissed me off for the last time. The new cruiser program was on hold, with the first two _Chandler_ class cruisers under completion, and only because they had already been laid down. Both ships were under construction at the New Moria shipyards. Apparently I was also in a little bit of hot water with New Psychonia's Ruling Council as originally they were looking forward to the economic boost of having 6 of the 10 ships of the class built there.

The six _Baton Rouge_ refits that I previously ordered were still proceeding, but the Baron's faction was absolutely furious at that. Somehow they seemed to be content with my general order to stand down the _Mann_ class ships and after they reached Calamian, one by one they were put into mothballs, while their crews went into the general pool. But any and every attempt to bring the fleet up to snuff otherwise was stonewalled. The accounts for the Sky Marshal program were frozen, so I couldn't order refits even though by legislation, I had the authority to. Refits cost money, and the simple solution to prevent them from happening was to make the money scarce.

* * *

The main reason that I was hanging around Union City on Caractacalla, was that I was waiting for my other ships to show up. The two Knox class light cruisers that were found in the rift had been ordered to rendezvous with the _'Quest_, and to form an exploration fleet. I still had the ability to order ships around with my Sky Marshal's rank, and my Commodore's rank allowed me to command small fleets from my flagship. We were going on another mission, this time a search and destroy mission. The dataset from the _Wonderland Hills _had some intriguing signals, one of which apparently had been seen before. Unfortunately, that was over 400 years ago. The name: _**Berserker**_. The last time that they were heard from, was during Earth's impulse only days. The only reason that we survived was that the Berserker mother ship was crippled. Their level of technology is still unknown, but we did know that they had warp drive. How advanced that drive was, is still unknown. They wiped out half of Earth's and her fledgling colonies ships, and then a civil war wiped out the rest. Then they disappeared, and nobody heard from them ... until now.

I needed a little extra firepower, and the only other ships that could keep up with the _'Quest_ were her brethren. The transport / tug was busy on contract with Amek, and the _Phantom_ was effectively commandeered back into the PDF. So for a little while I was stuck on this rock until the _Seeker_ and _Searcher_ could get here from New Moria.

I wasn't a happy camper, and I made sure that the rest of the Bu-ships hierarchy was unhappy campers. Every time that I showed up to a board meeting and was ejected, I filed a formal complaint with the Naval representatives on the Confederate Council (all of them), the Bu-ships ombudsman, and the local press usually got to know (somehow they always were at the ombudsman's office when I showed up to make a complaint) about it as well. Of course in the mood I was in, my basic statement was I simply wasn't allowed to do my job, and the safety of the Navy crews, and hence all of the Confederacy's shipping were at risk. It didn't take long before there were two petitions before council: One to remove me as Sky Marshal, and one to close down Bu-ships and put their budget directly to Naval Command, as who best to know what the Navy needs than the Navy themselves. Guess which one was mine.

As soon as the _Searcher_ and _Seeker_ arrived, I had both petitions tabled until my return, and the Council was too happy to oblige. That made Bu-ships furious as they all were effectively in limbo until my return. And I was going to make sure that it would be as long as possible before my return as the orders that I cut myself were open ended...

* * *

We were tumbling down the deep dark dimensions at warp 9.5, as we decided to leave the confederacy behind as fast as we could. My tactic was simple. I knew that the Bu-ships faction was furious and sooner or later they would have return orders cut. I also knew that Admiral Halfview would stall on sending those orders as much as he could, since he was battling Bu-ships for much longer than myself. One we left Confederation space, we could train our scanners all forward, and since there were no subspace relays out there, we simply wouldn't receive the message. I almost wanted to relay back, _I'm sorry, but this number is not in service._

When we reached the limits of known space, we headed deeper rim-wards towards where the _Wonderland Hills_ data said that the Berserker signals were found. The _Seeker, 'Quest_, and _Searcher_ were flying in a loose formation each ship about 1/10th of a parsec apart. That kept all ships in direct real-time communication, but allowed a wider intense scan field. We didn't know what the abilities of a Berserker ship really was, but we didn't want one slipping through or getting in behind us. We decided to step out at a leisurely warp 6 and headed away from the Medusa Nebula almost on a straight line away from Caractacalla and the Bureau of Ships.

* * *

Three uneventful weeks passed by before we picked up anything unusual on our sensors. Then one morning...

"Commodore, I have a powered object coming into range, distance 1.2 parsecs." Ellen informed me. A minute later, "It's proceeding under impulse power."

"K'tee, have the _Seeker_ and _Searcher_ close up, and when they do have the fleet go to warp 7," I ordered. An impulse power source detected at that range was an awfully big one.

An hour later the three ships had formed up into a single fleet and the rendezvous would occur about 10 hours later.

* * *

We had found a Berserker ship. And we were pounding it into scrap, at a glacial pace. As soon as we approached the ship went to warp, and we found out it was generation 2. That meant a maximum speed of warp 4, slower even than the old Rim Worlds ships. But it was huge. The _Searcher_ and _Seeker_ would fire their mega phasers and bring down the ship's shields, while the _'Quest_ would fire a pair of torpedoes which would wipe out a section of the Berserker's hull. But this was a tedious process, and we determined that this wasn't the mother ship. We had found the mining vessel. John calculated that it would take about 50% of or torpedo supply to take out the mining ship, so we would have to reserve the rest of our torps for the mother ship itself. So we dedicated our torpedo supply to this mining ship and the mother ship itself. But eventually we turned the mining ship into plasma, and deprived the mother ship of its needed raw materials. Hopefully it didn't have enough raw materials to build another miner. Now we needed to find and hunt down the rest of the fleet.

* * *

We were approaching a new contact. The scanner revealed that this ship was different from the Berserker ships that we encountered so far. The hull composition was different, for instance. So was its warp signature, which looked like a generation 3 hybrid of sorts. Even the 2 battlewagons we had encountered and destroyed were gen-2. This was something new, traveling at warp 5. We were closing on it at warp 7, and were still an hour away from visual scans. In free space warp 7 was nearly twice as fast as warp 5. It was when multiple warp fields overlap then strange things happen to the speed regime.

"Status change!" Ellen broke through my train of thought. "Four new contacts ... all traveling at warp 4 ... warp signature makes them Berserker battlewagons." A minute later, "all four are in intercept courses of our first contact."

So our first contact was the next victim of the Berserkers. I asked, "How soon will the Berserkers intercept the first ship?"

"Their vectors will cross in about 25 minutes," Ellen calculated.

"K'tee, have the fleet increase speed to warp 9," I ordered. We still would be about 5 minutes out, and a lot can happen in 5 minutes. As the time ticked down we could figure out the two strategies at work. The Berserkers were going in for the surround-and-kill, while the other ship was trying to use its speed advantage to slip between the two groups and affect an escape. Our fleet was screaming up from behind...

The unknown vessel almost made it. It would have, if not for something unexpected. There was a flash of energy on the forward scanners and the ships all appeared to drop to impulse speeds. Ellen studied the scan and concluded, "It looks like that ship has just hit a gravitic mine!"

"Who's gravitic mine? That technology should be beyond a gen-2 or gen-3 civilization!" I exclaimed.

"Well, apparently the Berserkers have it. Scanners confirm, a gravitic mine has disabled the unknown, and the Berserkers are closing in for the kill."

"What's our ETA?" I asked.

"Less than three minutes," Ellen answered.

"As soon as we reach weapons range, have all ships drop to impulse and engage a unique Berserker. Close in and use alpha strikes. Torpedo release is authorized..." I put up a hand when John was about to object. "Not now. There are lives at stake here."

The unknown ship was busy fighting for its life. From our scans it looked like it was hastily converted into a military ship, and wasn't purpose built for fighting. With four battlewagons surrounding it was just a matter of time...

Both the unknown and the Berserkers didn't see our approach. We dropped out of warp right in the middle of the combat, and as soon as we had our targets, we opened fire. The fight, which was basically an execution of some poor alien vessel, turned into one-sided target practice, with Berserker ships as the targets. Gravitic mines meant the fight would be at impulse, but that just meant that we had our gen-5 warp reactors for the shields and weapons we needed to pound the Berserkers into dust. Three minutes later two of the Berserkers were plasma and the other two disengaged and ran.

"K'tee, order the _Searcher _and _Seeker_ to go after those two ships, but be on the lookout for gravitic mines." I ordered. As soon as the orders went out the other two ships warped out in pursuit. That left the _'Quest_ and the alien ship.

We got our first close scans of the new ship. It was both modified from its original form and heavily damaged. But even through all that you had to admire its beauty. The graceful winged lines and pods were definitely a liability as a warship. One could easily tell where the weapons were hastily added on.

"K'tee, can you hail that ship?" I queried.

"I've been trying, but there is no response. I'm not getting any subspace emissions ... I think I've found what's left of their subspace antenna," K'tee answered.

"Try RF," I asked.

"Going with RF." A pause and then, "nothing on RF either."

"Then I guess we beam over. John staying or going?"

"I'll go," John replied.

I pressed the intercom on my control panel. "Toki, get a medical team together, and meet John and K'tee in transporter room 2."

"We're on our way," was the reply from the intercom.

* * *

As the away team materialized on the other ship, the amount of damage was readily apparent. Most of the lighting was not functional, with the remainder suffering from an annoying flickering. Toki and John pulled out tricorders and began scans. Toki was scanning for life, while John was scanning the ship itself. It became readily apparent that this was definitely not a ship built for war, even by generation-2 standards. Plasma conduits were hastily re-routed to hastily installed weapons mounts, all of which were old style first generation warp accelerated lasers. No missiles or torpedoes. Toki found some weak life signs nearby. That's where the landing party headed. Two minutes later they found some of the ships inhabitants. They were in the engineering section of the ship, and were in pretty bad shape. They were an avian species, and had feathered bodies. Burned feathered bodies. The damage from the gravitic mine had cascaded back to the ships main engineering section and had started many fires, some of which were still burning.

John pulled out his communicator. "John to _'Quest_."

"'_Quest_ here. How bad is it over there?" I answered the communication directly.

"Pretty bad. We're in the ships main engineering section. The ship is run by an intelligent bird species, and they took it on the chin over here. We're going to beam back some victims with bad burns. They will need sickbay's ICU."

"I'll let Doc Entur know we have incoming. Keep me informed of any status changes. _'Quest_ out." I signed off. The _Seeker_ had run down and destroyed its target while the _Searcher_ was playing hide-and-seek with the last battlewagon. It decided to try to hide in a solar system containing a large gas giant planet. I sent out standing orders to keep in subspace radio contact but remain on search and destroy, especially looking for the mother ship. We were beaming aboard some of the avian crewmembers from the other ship, those too wounded to be treated in the field.

* * *

An hour later the comm. panel beeped. "Good News!" John was a happy camper. "The race over here are called the Aven, and their home planet is, well, Aventus, approximately. At least that's what K'tee says, anyways. They have been fighting off the Berserkers for about a year now and it appears that they are slowly losing. This vessel started out as an unarmed explorer, and the undamaged parts are still beautiful, on the inside at least. K'tee says she will have a full update for the universal translator within the hour. You should see this place!"

"Sounds like something good might come out of this after all," I replied. "I'm going to check into sickbay and then I'll beam over." I headed down to sickbay, which was full of the Aven crewmembers. They were definitely descended from a bird species, and were on average about 1.5 meters tall. All of those that were beamed aboard with severe burns were successfully treated and they were recovering from their wounds. Good news for once. Entur was as good as Toki when it came to trauma management. There were over 50 Aven patients in our sickbay, all of which would recover from their wounds.

I beamed into the interior of the Aven ship. And it was beautiful. The ship was designed for a flying species, with large and cavernous spaces that the crew could simply fly from one deck to another (thus eliminating the need for turbo lifts) and the graceful design showed through the entire ship. If the Berserkers had not came, the ship would be absolutely beautiful to behold. As it was, the ship had been hastily modified with weaponry, as were all Aven ships. This ship, the _Galactic Swan_ was one of the few remaining ships the Avens had. They were currently fighting a last ditch attempt at planetary survival against the Berserkers. There was apparently an unending supply of Berserker battle ships even though they were slightly inferior to the warp 5 Aven ships. The jury rigged weapons were the best the Avens could do. I had met my counterpart, the captain of this ship. When he learned that many of his crew were currently recovering in our sickbay he gave me a hug. I told him that we weren't out of the woods yet (and had to explain the idiom) and he realized that he had a new and powerful ally at his disposal. There was hope for Aventus.

The ship itself was badly damaged. The warp drive was a mess, and it was an interesting design in itself. The best way to describe it would be a 'dilithium moderated late first generation design'. The Avens had found dilithium and had used it to create their first true warp drive, right from scratch. This was their second generation, and was capable of warp 5, even though most races would consider the remaining parts to be of advanced first generation. After building warp capable vessels the Avens had colonized two other planets, but the Berserkers already wiped out those colonies. The name of the ship itself is the "_Galactic Swan_". At least that's what the translator said it was. There were about 120 Aven crewmembers from an original complement of 200. The ships backup drive was a fast neutron engine, heavily shielded by the annular warp nacelle as well as other shielding. You definitely didn't want to be following this ship with that drive in operation. I asked the captain if they tried using it on the Berserker ships. It was the first thing they tried, before they started to arm their ships. Berserker ships had no life on board and the AI's were sufficiently shielded. The only technological advantage the Avens possessed was their speed advantage.

* * *

The_ 'Quest_ was flying in formation with the Aven starship "_Galactic Swan_", while our engineers were currently on board, effecting emergency repairs. The _Seeker_ and _Searcher_ were off chasing down any Berserker ships they could find, as well as keeping an eye out for the Berserker mother ship. Until we could take that out the threat of the Berserkers wouldn't end. Upon conferring with the Aven captain we decided to head for the planet Aventus. Since I was in a little bit of a hurry, we decided to tractor the _'Swan_ while we headed to Aventus. As we entered the system we noticed the lack of ships in or around the planet. The planet had a shipyard, and there were ships being built, but they were in a state of flux, as they seemed to be almost built explorers, which were being hastily converted into warships. None of the designs that I saw under construction struck me as a viable warship. The planet was currently wide open to attack, as there was no defending ships available. I soon discovered that there were no other ships left and the Avens were wide open to annihilation. They had no purpose built warships, and never did. All of their ships were hastily converted from their original missions of exploration and colonization. The weapons were developed in haste after the Berserkers attacked, and actually were inferior to the Berserker weapons, which were early model disruptors.

This was the end game for the Avens. The Berserkers would be moving in for the kill, and soon, if they realized how vulnerable the Avens really were. I was pretty sure that the _'Quest_ would be staying in system as it was the only effective thing between the Berserkers and the Aven home world. The ruling council of the planet had created a holiday around our arrival, as "Friends of the Avens Day" in honor of our intervention in their desperate battle against the Berserkers. I explained to them who I was, and where I came from, and the Avens were immediately willing to join the Rim Worlds Confederacy. They would be a distant satellite world, which needed regular patrol ships assigned until they could produce some on their own. We also brought their engineers up to speed on new starship systems and the design philosophy that produced warships. They latched on in particular to the 'Perimeter Defense Ship' as an easy to build and maintain class. We had full schematics and could bring their shipyards up to speed in producing that vessel type. While touring the planet, we realized all kinds of trade opportunities, and sent word back to Caractacalla. Now we waited.

* * *

While we waited for a response from Caractacalla, the _Searcher_ and _Seeker_ had hunted down and destroyed 7 more Berserker battlewagons. The mother ship still eluded us. We received a message from Caractacalla at last. There were two parts. The World of Aventus was admitted into the Confederacy, and regular trade would be commencing. As a matter of fact, merchant ships had already set out in search of new trading opportunities. The second part of the message was disturbing, however. The council and Bu-ships wanted me back at Union, and as soon as possible. I left that last statement open to interpretation. Until the mother ship was destroyed, we weren't going anywhere, and that was that. They could send out orders until they were blue in the face. As the only defense of Aventus we were staying put.

* * *

Two weeks had passed with no sign of the mother ship. Then as we were still in orbit around Aventus, Ellen noticed a change on the scanners.

"Status change!" Ellen exclaimed. "New contacts, at the edge of the hyper wall."

"Identity?" John queried.

"Looks like Berserkers ... at least a dozen battlewagons, and ... one ... large vessel. Maybe the mother ship."

"If it is then this is the main attack on Aventus. K'tee, inform the Avens," I ordered.

K'tee fired up the comm. panel and a minute later, "The Avens indicate that there is no defenders left. Just us."

"I guess we're on the hook for this one. Nergat, break orbit, intercept course, least time approach please."

Nergat set the course and the impulse engines were engaged. We had to take out the mother ship all by our selves, or this war is all over. There would be no Avens or Aventus left, if we failed. And we knew how hard it was to take down something as big as the mining ship. The mother ship was even larger. Even though I ordered the return of the _Searcher_ and _Seeker_, they were both days away. We were it. There were 13 battlewagons, one unidentified ship type, and what was obviously the mother ship. All were flying in formation for an assault on the planet, which was only 20 minutes away at their current impulse speed. If size was any indication of firepower, they could reduce the surface of the planet to slag in a few hours.

We would find out in less than 10 minutes just what the mother ship was capable of. Our fate was fixed. We were committed. Everyone on board knew what was at stake. The range ticked down, and as soon as we hit range we opened fire. We could dance around the fleet, flying in and out of their formation as we fire crippling blows at the battlewagons. In less than two minutes we had disabled two of them and had found out what the unknown ship was. It was an orbital bombardment vessel. It was the second priority, after the mother ship, which would survive our combined onslaught and make it into orbit regardless of how much firepower we poured into it.

Then a dim memory clicked into my head.

"Ellen, what _kind_ of shields does that mother ship sport?"

"Polarized wave reversion type. The standard for a generation-2 ship," Ellen replied, puzzled.

I had a wicked grin as I pressed the intercom button. "Engineering," I said.

"Engineering here," came the reply.

"I need you to get one of our antimatter containers to a transporter room, ASAP," I ordered.

"Yes sir, but why?"

"We are going to give it to that Berserker mother ship. And then we are going to send it straight to hell. Their shields can't block transporters," I informed.

The avenger class sported the same large anti-matter containers as most of the class 1-B fleet. This ship held a dozen, containing the ships fuel supply, as well as the supply for the photon torpedoes. Each one held about half a tonne of anti-matter. If it were released, the result would be a 13-gigaton explosion. That's enough to take out even the largest of ships, when detonated from within that vessel. And we were going to beam it aboard the mother ship.

Two minutes later, "The A-M pod is in cargo transporter 2."

"Set it to release as soon as it's beamed aboard the mother ship," I ordered. "Then let 'em have it!"

Two astronomical units away from Aventus a new star erupted in this solar system. An antimatter containment pod materialized onboard the mother ship and 440 kg of frozen anti-deterium was released from its magnetic prison and came into contact with matter. The rest was gamma rays, as the mother ship turned into an expanding ball of plasma, which engulfed some of the surrounding ships. When the flare died down there were three Berserker battlewagons left, which we easily took out the old fashioned way. We then returned to Aventus, entering orbit. Already there were celebrations going on down on the planet.

* * *

We were heroes to the locals, again. Single handedly, we stopped the Berserkers in their tracks and saved the Avens. We explained that we caught a lucky break but they were having none of that. We were heroes, plain and simple. So we rolled with it. Besides, I should be used to getting this kind of press anyways. The planet was the newest member of the Rim Worlds Confederacy, and they will begin construction of a brand new series of ships, _Akazi_ class perimeter action ships. They would adapt to that design, instead of trying to make the ship flyable. Having seen the interior of the _'Quest_, the Avens decided on speed and expediency over beauty. There would be time enough for beautiful explorers, later, now that the planet had a future. Getting a modern defense force up and running would be their first priority.

The _Searcher_ arrived the next day, while we received a message, from the _Seeker_. The _Seeker_ had found a trio of Berserker battlewagons and was hunting them down in a system, which had a dense asteroid field. We expected them to arrive in another day or two. When we had to leave this system, I intended that the _Searcher_ and _Seeker _would stay on as system defense ships until the Avens could get new ships of their own built.

We could go anywhere and do anything as far as the Avens were concerned. They were toast when the Berserkers attacked, and our intervention meant that doomsday had been postponed. The shipyards had immediately switched over to building perimeter action ships, as those held the best promise of firepower vs. tonnage for new ships. They also had a big boost up to generation 5 technologies, thanks to us. We were more than willing to share with our friends, and hoped that the boost would enhance relations with the Avens. It became apparent that we could do no wrong in their eyes, for we were the saviors of their planet. There were even statues of myself being made. I expressed my disapproval, but was over ridden. If locals wanted to make statues of me then the council would not interfere. I eventually relented, as I didn't want to really disappoint the locals.

We needed to return to Caractacalla, eventually. There was this important issue awaiting the Confederacy Council, with respect to the status of the bureau of ships and the Sky Marshall's office. When the _Searche_r arrived in the Aventus system, we relented and headed back towards the Rim Worlds seat of government on Caractacalla. As long as there was a ship on patrol, we had no further grounds to delay. That didn't mean that we were in a hurry to get back, either. We also had the task of bringing an Aven delegation to the Rim Worlds capital, where they would sit on the council. That, for me would be a good thing, I found out. As the Aven delegation went through the briefs and the issues that the Rim Worlds faced, I found yet another ally on council. The Avens would back their hero, regardless of the issue!

* * *

Union city was abuzz with activity. There were the diplomatic parties and welcomings for the Avens. There was a shit storm happening at Bu-ships. The pair of petitions was still tabled, but with my new allies in council, we kept the petitioned tabled while some funding was pushed through, enough to refit the rest of the _Baton Rouge_ class cruisers. The new cruiser project was also pushed through council, but this one had backing from the Federation, so Bu-ships had to suck it up.

20 new attack cruisers, with ageneration-6 warp drives were finally going to be built, both at UFP shipyards, as well as New Moria and Wa-Lu. The first ten of each were to have the same hull numbers and names, as a project in disinformation. The _U.S.S. Chandler_, NCC-9101 would be in service at the same time as the _R.C.S. Chandler_, RNS-9101. So all ten were back on the construction slips.

Other than that it was business as usual, except that I was hated even more. My delay in returning was just the ticket I needed, and that infuriated the director! I didn't even bother going in to my office, conducting business from my ready room on the _'Quest_. That way certain individuals wouldn't get accidentally shot, and I stayed out of jail. It was only a matter of time until something came up and as soon as that happened I was out of here.


	10. Dancing on Thin ice

**10: DANCING ON THIN ICE**

Another rift. It would have to be another rift, this time forming near the Medusa Nebula right on the trade route between Caractacala and Aventus. A merchant ship passing by discovered it. This one had to be investigated, as it was forming near a new but important space lane. The_ 'Quest _was a natural, since some of us were already getting the informal title of "_The Rift Runners_" by the rest of the Rim Worlds navy. But mainly it was the fact that the _'Quest_ carried the _'Sister_, with its gravitic array, that made us the natural for 'rift running', as it were. Also it got the Skymarshal back off of Caractacalla and Union City for some time.

* * *

We found ourselves in another pocket universe, this one containing a small cluster of stars. I felt odd, but I couldn't put my finger on it. Some intriguing readings were coming from the closest system, containing a sun-like star. Nergat went on "Interphase disease watch", and Toki broke out the Theragen, just in case. It turns out that that wasn't necessary, with the 4-day trip to the star system being uneventful. The strange readings were coming from the systems Kuiper belt. We found a few interesting rock crystal samples that seemed to be emitting low levels of gravitic waves, in the impulse "J" band.

Ellen was working in the ships lab when a series of fist sized samples were brought onboard and sent to her science team. I asked her to find out just what the crystals were doing exactly. Then I left it in her capable hands, and returned to the bridge. We were inbound to the inner solar system. Sensors had detected a class M planet in the second orbit around this star. That was the place to go.

Ellen eventually came up with an explanation for the crystals. They produced a type of gravitic energy in the impulse J band, with some visible effects. There were five specific frequencies to that energy, which seemed only possible under the physics of this pocket universe. How the crystals produced the energy was still a mystery. But they did.

The second planet was indeed habitable, and in fact was inhabited. There were five continents on that planet, but somehow they looked _wrong_. It was as if plate tectonics had rammed the five continents together, after they had been separated for some time. There was an odd energy vortex over one of the planet's poles. It emitted energies in all 5 of the J bands "channels", as our rock samples did.

* * *

Each continent seemed to have a variety of life forms on them, and what a menagerie it was! That left us somewhat puzzled as to why would each continent sport a distinct set of species, without migration and mixing. There have been only recent movements of indigenous populations, and it looks as though there is a state or war between the continents. Apparently even without any signs of technology, these peoples were adept at using gravitational energy, as flashes of that energy appeared sporadically on this planet. Apparently some beings there had learned to, or had the innate ability to, make use of that energy!

Then it hit me. The odd feeling, it was static-y, and somewhat familiar. "It's mana," I stated.

"What?" Ellen asked.

"The strange energy is mana. We are in a mana filled universe," I replied.

"OK, what is a mana filled universe, and why is it this small?"

"I can't say anything about the size of these pocket universes, but I can say that the laws of physics are different here. Think of mana as a magical energy source versus a technological one. Even though a type of technology is involved primitive cultures can harness the energy of mana. And we need to know more about those frequencies, as they are involved with mana energies. Check for interference wave effects, and see of you can dampen those energy fields." I concluded. There was only one being that I knew had any knowledge about mana.

"And what are you going to do?" John interjected.

I pressed a button on my control panel. "Doctor Toki, I need to know if you have some _hallucinogen_s on board."

Toki was taken aback. "Umn ... yes but why?"

"I need to make a long distance 'phone' call. But I need to dream the call and remember everything that I dream. Can you do that for me?"

"Yes but REM enhancers and memory drugs would be more appropriate, as well as the neural inhibitor can be re-calibrated..." Toki trailed off.

"Then that's what I need. I will see you in fifteen minutes." I switched off the intercom. "John, you have the con."

* * *

I was dreaming in the sickbay, under Toki's supervision. I hoped this worked, as I seemed to be flying through a fog. On and on it went. Then suddenly the fog seemed to lift. I found myself standing on a deck that reminded me of a large shuttle bay. It wasn't a shuttle bay - it was an _angel_ bay. Four winged angels were coming and going from this deck. They all looked familiar, as if an angelic photocopier were at work. Then I heard behind me, "Hello lover. Welcome to the _Parhelion_."

I turned to face Razia. "Hello Razia," I replied. "Long time no see."

"That's an understatement," she replied, as she gave me an embrace. The other angels appeared to not notice me while we stood there on the deck. _Orders from Razia?_

"Three years," I stated, as we still embraced.

"Three years!" Razia exclaimed. "You are unstuck in the sands of time! It been _THREE CENTURIES_ since you rescued me from your mana-less universe!"

I just stood there for a moment, letting that sink in. Three centuries! And Razia looked no different from the last day that I saw her. Then I remembered that she was effectively timeless. Razia led me into the ship. The design reminded me of ships right out of anime. Captain Harlock's _Arcadia_ would be the best fit, but only if it were fitted with sails. We reached the command deck and then I faced a conundrum. There was Razia, lying on the deck, surrounded by a group of concerned angels. I looked at the Razia standing besides me, then at the other Razia, and back. Then I realized what was going on. The real Razia was on the deck in front of me sleeping – _dreaming_. The dream projection was her avatar just like my presence here. No wonder the other angels couldn't see me! However one of her lieutenants touched Razia's temple. There was a flash of insight, as she appeared to make a telepathic connection with her guild master. Then she looked straight at me. I gave her a small wave, and to my surprise, she waved back. "That's Anezka, my trusted right hand," Razia commented. "She and the others didn't know why I suddenly decided to take a nap on the middle of my command deck. Now they do."

"I see," I replied. "And who are they?" I asked pointing out the group of angels who had just passed by. They were identical to the others with one exception. They had red feathers in their wings.

"Those are Firemane angels," Razia beamed. "They are my holy warriors. They're my daughters who rip up the battlefield with holy fire, when necessary. They are the expressions of my red side."

"Your what?" I asked, while we walked into the interior of the ship.

"My red side. Angels here are manifestations of white mana, made incarnate, like I told you before. In Ravnica, we are manifestations of both white and red mana, holy, but emotional. The Firemanes are more emotional than holy." Razia concluded.

We had reached the engine room. A shockingly familiar device confronted me there. "An impulse engine," I stated. "You copied the shuttle's impulse engine!"

"Yes we did. With the help of the Izzet, we enlarged it for this ship. You would call this ship an anachronism, I think, _sails and impulse engines_. We call it the reality drive, for with Niv-Mizzet's help the engine became a reality."

I was looking intently at the engine. Something was wrong here, I was pretty sure. Then it dawned on me. "No interlock..." I stated.

"No what?" Razia asked.

"You have no interlock between your two fusion reactors," I reiterated. "The shuttle was a single reactor design. This engine has two."

"Your _7__th__ Sister_ had two reactors," Razia replied with a puzzled look.

"Yes and it has an interlock between the reactors. It prevents problems with one reactor from affecting the other. Your setup is unstable. Unless someone watches the reactors closely, you could suffer an overload, and a catastrophic explosion."

"How badly would that damage the ship?" Razia asked.

"It would vaporize it and everything within," I was sizing up the reactors, "3 kilometers radius." _It would be a good-sized nuke – almost a megaton_, I thought.

"Ouch. Luckily angels here do not need sleep. I will put one on monitor duty. Thanks." With that Razia had a distant look on her face. "Where are you? Physically, I mean."

"I don't know. The _'Quest_ was studying a rift near a nebula when we crossed into it. We found an inhabited system inside a pocket universe, somewhat larger than ... Ravnica." I replied.

"The _'Quest_?" Razia asked.

"Yes, the _R.C.S. Faraway Quest_. It's my new command, a heavy cruiser. She carries the _'Sister_ as an auxiliary ship..."

"I need to see your thoughts. Will you?" Razia held a hand up to my temple, while changing the subject.

"Of course." We were already life-linked. Razia didn't really need my permission to read my thoughts. But the connection seemed to work faster with the physical contact. Even in this dreamy-time the touch sure _felt real_. "I think you are in Alara, if I remember the descriptions from the visitors."

"What visitors?" I asked.

"Before the Guildpact, there were visitors to ... this universe," Razia replied. "They brought tales and descriptions of where they were from. The _Parhelion_ was built in part to find out why they don't visit anymore." Then Razia emitted a gasp.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"I sense ... a cry. An _angelic_ cry," Razia got out. "There's an angel in trouble and I can feel the cry from here. She is on _your_ side of the link."

"My side? I don't even know where I am exactly! How am I supposed to find a crying angel on a planet I haven't even reached?" I finally asked. I was not about to ask how Razia sensed an angel through our link.

"Simple. You do what you do best, oh rescuing one. We have a life-link bond. Use it if you have to, but be warned. You might not be able to channel the energy without some personal risk." She had placed her right hand on my chest to reinforce the statement.

"Hey, keeping me together is now Toki's job. If you're certain that I can help..."

"Yes, you are the only one who can. I can sense it..." Her voice faded as the mist returned. "Goodbye lover." Razia gave me a kiss and faded into the whiteness.

* * *

I was back in my sick bay with a concerned Toki fretting about me, checking my vitals on the medical monitor. "Welcome back. Was your 'phone call' successful?"

"Yes it was," I replied. "We apparently are in a place called Alara, and we have a new mission."

"Your 'phone call' gave us a mission?" Toki asked, incredulously. I think he started to misbelieve his sensors.

"Actually the party on the other end did. I owe Razia my life, and this is her request, so I need to at least try."

"So that's whom you were in contact with," Toki finished with, as realization dawned on his face. One doesn't just say 'no' to an angel.

* * *

"So just what am I scanning for, exactly?" Ellen asked.

"A needle in a haystack," I said half-heartedly. Finding a needle in a haystack would be child's play compared to this. "Again, we are looking for a crying angel."

"I was hoping for a better description that that. That's not a lot to go on. Besides what are you going to do when you find this angel?"

"I dunno. Beam her aboard and shoot her with that fancy new gun of yours." Ellen had completed what was dubbed the 'blue mana dispersal weapon' that created a destructive interference with the mana that manifested itself in the blue part of the visible spectrum. It was built using the chassis of an old-style phaser rifle, and still used the original power cells. But it still looks like a gun, a really _big_ gun, and the kind that would put a grin on the face of any red blooded male.

"I think I found all the angels on this planet. They are clustered here on or actually over this continent." An idyllic picture of a vast city on that continent was on the main view screen. "None of them appear to be really sad. Check out this pile by the floating structure here." Ellen put up a building that reminded me of _Stratos of Ardana_, except with much more ornamentation. It must have been the angels' citadel, for most of the angelic life signs were there.

Then it dawned on me. "We are looking for a needle in a stack of needles, and not a needle in a hay stack. Razia said she was utterly alone, and that means no other angels are present. We should restart our search on the other side of the planet, and work our way back to here."

* * *

Sure enough we found a single angel all by herself. Almost. The 100-meter long lizard that was there would make that alone statement moot, but when was the last time angels hung out with dragons anyways?

"A ... dragon? What next, demons?" John asked.

"Don't give this universe any ideas," I warned. "Transporter room, lock on to that signal and beam it up. John, you have the con," I ordered as I entered the turbo lift.

* * *

The angel materialized in the transporter room, and she was in tears, literally. She was covered in some kind of lightning effect. So I did shoot her with Ellen's gun. As I watched the interferometer count down to zero I found that the angel, still on the pad, was still encased in some sort of lightning. But the color changed to an ugly shade of purple. I ordered her beamed directly to sickbay. And then I headed there myself.

The angel was still in dire straits. The lightning was coursing around and through her body, and I was pretty sure that it was a foreign effect. The "anti-blue-gun" had an effect, but not completely. There was still some mana effect happening. When Ellen entered the sickbay, I asked her to take a spectrum of the lightning, and to make another mana dispersal weapon tuned for that frequency. Ellen left with a new job.

The angel in sickbay was clearly dying, right in front of my eyes. Remembering Razia's message I decided to take a leap of faith. I grabbed the angel and sat her up on the sickbay bed. I reached around her back to find some pressure points that Razia taught me about. "You need to life-link with me." I told the angel.

She refused. Either she didn't understand me or she seemed to want to die. Then I found out which. "Let me go. I don't deserve to live." She finally replied.

"Yes you do! Life-link with me dammit! Don't ... let ... that ... dragon ... win!" I finally claimed. I wasn't letting go of those pressure points. It worked. The angel pressed a hand to my chest and the other to my temple. Then a feeling like I was on fire engulfed me. Think about being tasered by a dozen people. That's what it felt like. Then a 'psst' of a hypo spray into my arm and I passed into sleepy land under Toki's supervision. I didn't dream but when I woke up 16 hours had passed. The angel survived until Ellen could create a "purple mana dispersal weapon" and ended the lightning effects. The next question was what to do with this angel, now that she was safe. This angel didn't seem to want to be rescued in the first place.

The angel was named Sarrasa, guardian angel of Giltspire. I decided to call her Sara for short. Her 'offence' in the eyes of Bant, her country, was simply of that of desertion. Her desertion wasn't her own doing. She was apparently 'kidnapped' by the dragon that took over her so that his minions could change 'Giltspire Tower' into an obelisk, for the dragon's nefarious purposes. She was soon to be discarded, but I happened to come along and, naturally, rescued her. I convinced her that it wasn't her fault, and to consider staying with us, at least for a little while. I had a navy blue work dress uniform made for Sara, since she had no place to go. Apparently she was under exile from Bant, which was the expected punishment she would receive. I took her under 'my wing' so to speak. In the week she was aboard the _'Quest_ she did get to know a few of the crewmembers, and we got to know a lot about the continent called Bant.

* * *

Apparently I really pissed off the dragon that it had appeared over that Idyllic continent that we had scanned earlier. The dragon was flying around the floating palace, and apparently either taunting those who were within, or looking for another victim. I ordered the _'Quest_ into the planet's atmosphere, and if I could, we were going to take a shot at the dragon itself.

No such luck. As we entered the atmosphere and approached the floating citadel, the dragon decided to be elsewhere, and teleported away. We passed over the citadel and returned to standard orbit. It was time to greet the locals. The citadel appeared to be shielded from scans somehow, and I decided to take a shuttlecraft down. We landed on the floating citadel. Sara insisted that she hear the judgment for herself.

That might have been a mistake. As soon as I had left the shuttle after dropping in unannounced, and with _this angel_ in tow, we were surrounded by a phalanx of guard angels. These warriors looked down on Sarrasa, and I even heard one of them call her a traitor. We were being escorted into some inner sanctum where we would be told of her fate. I at least had the reassuring slap of my twin phasers on my hip. But if a flyby by a half-kilometer long starship didn't seem to faze them, what would a pair of phasers do?

We entered a council chamber. An angel was sitting in a chair, the only one occupied of a set of seven. There were four other angels in this room with us, two at the entrance, and two more at the wings of the room.

"I AM CANDELA, Asura of justice!" The angel sitting on the chair stated. _For my benefit?_ "Sarrasa of Giltspire, you have been sentenced to permanent exile in Grixis for your actions, or rather, your inactions." Sara had described that exile to Grixis was basically Bant's only form of 'capital punishment', and only for angels. Angels didn't last long in Grixis. "You have been found guilty of Crimes against the holy order, failure to defend a holy site and failure to protect wards under angelic charge."

"Uhmn, excuse me but there are extenuating circumstances," I managed to get out. Nobody seemed to be paying attention to this mere mortal amongst these angels. "Sara..." I asked, but she seemed to be frozen, immobilized by some force.

I touched her wings, and gave her a shake. I needed someone to tell me what is going on. Then all hell broke loose. Apparently a mortal was not to grab an angel, even one under sentence of exile! The angels in the wings of the room started to advance on my position, as well as the two at the entrance. All four held rather large lances, and they seemed to know how to use them. It seemed that my time was running out. Besides lances around here could easily be directed energy weapons. And these would be angel-powered ones. _Oh, just great._

Time for a kata trance, I thought as I drew my phasers. "Sorry Sara," I said as I squarely aimed them at the two angels that advanced from the knaves of the chamber. I wasn't taking any chances. Step, and double pulse the triggers. Drop both angels in one salvo, spin 180° on one heel and drop the two angels coming up from the entrance with another four extra-heavy stun blasts. Spin 270° come to rest facing Sara, with one phaser covering Candela, and the other covering the entrance to the room. End kata trance. That's when I finally got noticed. I don't think Candela thought a mortal's weapons and moves could be so effective at stripping her of her guards.

"Hold, Commodore!" Candela stated. I had definitely had her full attention now, and she knew my rank! "Further violence will not be needed. Please put those away. I know that no real harm has come to my guards, through my link with Sarrasa. She was frozen by telepathic link. Please forgive our 'rigid' standards but I hope to redeem Bant in your eyes, for we are not this ... dishonorable, under normal circumstances. I understand that you control a flying ship that can move from one plane to the next?" Candela had risen from her seat.

Sara had 'awoke' from her trance like state. She turned to face me. "Please put those away. I don't need or deserve your protection-"

"Bullshit and you know it. Besides, our fates are now intertwined, remember?" as I put my phasers away. To Candela I replied, "The _R.C.S. Faraway Quest_ can cross from one dimension to another through either a natural or artificial rift. Finding the right destination becomes the interesting part."

Candela continued, "We strive to have a balance between the law and it's interpretation. However, recent events have proven to us that we need to take a new look at the world. We seem to be outclassed by our enemies, and we really don't know what to do. But with your arrival we have an idea."

"How did I know this is going to involve me?" I said aloud, to no one in particular.

Candela sensed that I was no ordinary mortal. "It involves you if you respect Sarrasa's original mission." The Asura informed me. "Although she is under sentence of exile, and I'm sorry that the sentence of exile can't be lifted under our laws, she can be exiled to another location than Grixis. Bant is dying, and we need one who can save it. We need to get a message to Elspeth, and we need to do it as quickly as possible." The Asura replied. "Jenara is no longer with us."

"What!" Sara responded. She was definitely shocked by the news.

"Jenara was destroyed while taking out the demon Banath'thur. She did succeed, but in the end had to sacrifice herself to defeat the demon."

"You angels and your penchant to self sacrifice yourselves for the cause. Haven't you heard that the point of war is not to die for your country but to make the other sucker die for his?" I interjected.

"No, but that is a good point, and a reason we need Elspeth Tirel. She is a planeswalker and a great and noble warrior, and we need her to both complete the Council of Orderly Contemplation, as well as save us from ourselves." The Asura was almost pleading with me.

"But Sara's fate ... What if she goes with me?" I finally asked.

"Yes, she may go with you, into your care. If I read my vision correctly you will help us, as rescuing people is what you do."

"You got me there," I admitted.

* * *

Now I was roaming around this 'multiverse' looking for an individual who could cross between these mini-universes on her own. But I had to be able pass between mini-universes on my own. It turned out that that was easier than I originally thought. By modifying a photon torpedo with a variety of the crystals, which were tuned to the destination, we could create a 'rift bomb' with the proper signature to enter the other reality. So we started a sequence of multi-dimensional transfers in search of this 'planeswalker'

* * *

After we had jumped to a few new 'pocket universes'. It began to be a little frustrating. We were on the bridge scanning yet another planet. John had seemed to take a liking to Ellen, as he stood over her sciences station on the bridge.

"Froth," Ellen exclaimed.

"OK, what about froth?" I asked.

"These mini-universes are in the froth between our universe and the mirror universe." She stated, holding one hand above the other. "They are manifestations of a different set of physics, each and every one of them. They exist as a froth between those two universes." Ellen replied. "I can run an algorithm and calculate how many of these universes there are."

"So, how does that help us find this 'Elspeth'?" John asked.

"We at least know where we are..." A sensor beeped, interrupting Ellen. "This universe has but one planet, and the life signs are indeterminate."

"Explain," I ordered.

"It appears that most of the items moving across the planet's surface are not alive." Ellen replied.

"What do you mean, not alive?"

Sara looked at the display. "They are undead!" she exclaimed. "The whole planet's undead."

"Like zombies?" I asked.

I was cut off. "There is a life sign down there!" Ellen Exclaimed. "Just one!"

"Beam it aboard." I ordered. "I'll be in transporter room 1." I just gave John the 'gun finger' and he took over the center seat.

When I reached the transporter room, it held another ... angel.

_That was unexpected_, I thought. But indeed, there was another angel in my transporter room. Like Sara this one had two wings. Time to ask questions.

"Who are you?" I asked

"My name is Reya Dawnbringer." The angel stated.

"Ok, Reya, I hope I didn't shock you by beaming you up."

"Of course not, if you hadn't I would have been killed by those undead. Thank you." She replied. How much of that was bravado, I didn't really care. I was staring at her, specifically her wings.

"Oops. Sorry about that." Her wingtip feathers were slightly truncated. "I'll get Toki to check you over. Follow me," I led the new angel to sickbay. The one big risk with a transporter is that you must be entirely on the pad. Anything that is partly on the edge will be effectively amputated by the generated wormhole, which could get really ugly if you try to beam up anything larger than the pad itself. Usually the safeties prevent that but with an angels' spread out wings...

Reya was fine. A few ruffled feathers that needed to grow back were the entire damage the transporter did, and she didn't require treatment.

"You seem to be on a mission," she stated, almost reading my mind.

"Yes. We are looking for a planeswalker, one Elspeth Tirel." I replied.

"You will find her on the plane of Lorwyn." The angel replied. "I have talked with her, and found her to be wishing for some absolution for some wrong she had committed. She is 'recovering' from her condition, and may not be willing to leave Lorwyn."

"We'll just have to deal with that when we get there." I informed Reya. It didn't take long for her to realize that I was life-linked not to one but _TWO_ angels, after I introduced her to Sara.

"Just who are you?" Reya asked while I was grabbing a quick bite in the ships main cafeteria.

"Call me Stephen Michael," I responded. "I go around rescuing beings like yourself. Call it one of my missions in life. And now I need to rescue 'Bant' from itself. But at least it is at their own request." I explained to Reya about the angelic council's request.

"Hence you need to find Elspeth," the angel concluded.

"Yes. The Asura was insistent, and that's why I am here. I have lots of torpedoes to turn into rift bombs, but I'm running out of places to go."

"Then let me help." The angel said. She then met up with Sara again. They worked well together and a new rift bomb, designed for Lorwyn was made. We headed there next.

* * *

Sure enough, we found Elspeth Tirel on the planet called Lorwyn. She was originally not willing to come, but the fact that we were beaming her up to the ship proved otherwise. I let Reya talk to her while I walked the meadows near Elspeth's home. During the walk she was talked into returning to Bant and joining the angels Court of Orderly Contemplation, with Reya at her side. When we reached Bant, we took the shuttle to the citadel, as the transporter still refused to work here. There were one angel, one planeswalker, and myself. We left the shuttle and entered the inner sanctum.

Candela was waiting for us there. Her guards were conspicuously absent for this meeting. Candela quickly explained why they needed Elspeth, and the dire straits that Bant was in. With Jenara gone, they held the seventh seat on the Court of Orderly Contemplation open, and hoped that Elspeth would join the angels and fill that seat. They knew she was a planeswalker, and hoped that her ability would save Bant. They still wanted Elspeth, and badly. Reya wanted to be at Elspeth's side as she found that this place was the 'ideal place' for an angel to be. Reya was also willing to act as Elspeth's advisor in angelic matters, so Candela finally agreed on an 8th 'guest seat' on the Council.

* * *

I was back in dreamy land, in the sickbay. This time there was no fog, as I was in a corridor of my own ship. I headed to the shuttle bay, and sure enough there was a 4-wingel angel there, looking around. I decided to give her a hug. "Hello Lover." I said.

We embraced for a while, just holding each other. Then Razia said, "Good morning Stephen. So this is your ship."

"Yes it is. Welcome aboard the _Faraway Quest_," I responded. We walked out of the shuttle bay together, and I gave Razia a 'virtual' tour of my ship. She was impressed with the warp core as we walked through engineering and through the crew there. The next stop was sickbay. I introduced Razia to Toki (but not the other way around). We ended up on the bridge.

"Let me show you my new bridge crew." None of them noticed us as we were dream avatars, and not exactly physical. "The Horta, on navigation there, is Nergat. That's John my X.O. He's pretty cool for a straight navy guy. He knows his stuff. My new crewmember is Sara – Sarassa, former guardian of Giltspire, that's her whole name, on helm, training. Thanks to you she survived."

"You know I felt the damage as badly as you," Razia stated.

"Ouch. At least I got a sedative and missed most of the fun. One of these days the two of you should meet for real."

"That won't happen for you are unstuck in the sands of time I'm afraid."

"Listen, regardless of what happens I will come back for you..."

"You will try no doubt, but I feel our fates separating. You are destined to become unstuck in time again, I'm afraid. The next time you time-walk it will be far into the future, farther than your frozen journey. Take care of her. She is about to go through the same shock that I did."

A fog was swirling around. "Good bye, lover," was the last thing I heard Razia say.

We returned to my universe. I had a new hole in my soul.


	11. Take the Long Way Home

**11: TAKE THE LONG WAY HOME**

Sara came to me one week after we had left the rift. She had a slightly disheveled look, as if she hadn't slept in a week. It turned out that she hadn't.

I had to explain that in a mana-less universe like my own, she had to rely on her backup biological systems, thus she needed to eat, drink, and even sleep on a regular basis. Based upon my experience with Razia, she needed about 2 – 3 hours of sleep a day. I explained to her about eating and drinking as well.

A week later still came the question. Sara was well out of sorts by that time.

"I have been ... dreaming as you would call it. The dreams have been ... interesting. But I need advice," Sara stated. "Did you and Razia..."

"The answer you are looking for is yes." I stated matter of factly.

"Then how did she get you to..."

"She jumped my bones, as we would say in the 21st century. Razia has a red side and doesn't take no for an answer."

"Then how do I get you to..."

"Like this," I said as I kissed her.

* * *

My quarters were no longer empty, as I had an angel in my life again. Literally. This time it was a two-winged angel. After our first night together Sara spent almost as much time as I did sleeping afterwards. Like Razia, she was good enough to just hug me while I completed a human sleep cycle, for I required over twice as much sleep as an angel stuck in a mana-less universe. By this time Sara had fully trained as a Starship Helm Officer, and sat beside Nergat on the bridge. I currently had my full bridge crew. I had the center seat, of course, as we had no flag bridge, and I generally didn't run with more than one ship anyways, pulling in the _Seeker_ and _Searcher_ only when needed. John was on the tactical panel, at least when he wasn't hanging around my chair when Toki visited the bridge, or Ellen's when Toki wasn't. Brent was on the engineering panel, K'tee on communications, and finally Ellen on science. We were headed back to Calamain at a leisurely warp 6, when the call came in.

K'tee put it upon the screen. "Orders for _R.C.S. Faraway Quest_ to Commodore Michael from the Council via this Admiral's office." I winced at that. Usually the council would only order ships around in an emergency – like Bu-ships pestering them about my absence. "You are to proceed at maximum warp to rendezvous with the _R.C.S. Rimrunner II_, and take on a diplomatic team. Then you will proceed under their direction to the Abednego system and the planet Wellbefallen."

"Ellen, look up Wellbefallen for me," I ordered. I looked at John.

"Never heard of it," John answered my unasked question. And John was a local boy.

"Found it," Ellen replied. "It's out in the Saga sector. The _Wonderland Hills _surveyed the planet on their mission and made brief contact. It's a lost human colony. Technology at the early 22nd century level," Ellen was using Terran conventions. "Oh that's nuts..."

"What?" John asked.

"The planets controlled by the Wellbefallen Theocracy. A very repressive theocracy," Ellen answered. "Here is a personal log entry from the _'Hills'_ Captain: Wellbefallenites are very parochial and backwards. Much medical technology, including most drugs is not allowed. Shared accommodation planetside is only available to those with recognized marriages from their planet, Covenant, and Marianis. Censorship is rampant. Leave holos, discs and books on your ship. The hotels are probably bugged. There are few prisons as there are few felons, and slavery is the usual sentence handed out."

"And we're sending a diplomatic mission there?" I was incredulous.

* * *

The _Rimrunner II_ was a stock Mission class courier, and probably one of the newer ships in the fleet. Not really suitable as a diplomatic flagship, so we got the job. We were also one of the 5 fastest and newest capital ships the fleet had. After our rendezvous we also found out why the diplomatic team was going there. They were asked for. Apparently there was an altercation between the Wellbefallenites and some ships crew when the _'Hills' _used their transporters. The shock of that technology caused a firefight! At that point the _'Hills'_ crew were asked to leave. The League of Cardinals asked that they carry an invitation to any other friendly government in the region to send a diplomatic team – and use shuttles.

Thus the long slog to Abednego. I wasn't in a real hurry, so we traveled at the rather sedate pace of warp 7. The diplomatic team kept to themselves for most of the trip. There was ambassador Del'tane, his two aides Drossn and Ondiru, as well as three bodyguards. The only way to describe them would be 'green skinned elves'. They were the native species from Lorne. As we reached Wellbefallen we took up a standard orbit and began scans of the planet. It was early 22nd century down there. A rudimentary spaceport for their fledgling ships and another craft from a visiting planet was on the surface. Contact was by radio. This was the first time that Del'tane was on the bridge with the alpha shift. He was staring at Sara, then he walked over to my command chair and whispered, "Is she actually ... an angel?"

"Yes," I whispered. "And her hearing is far better than ours." Sara grinned at that remark.

K'tee had patched in her comm. board and made contact with the 'League of Cardinals'. The ambassador was making arrangements for his official visit. There would be eight people arriving on the planet. _Eight?_ Also apparently there would be a contingent of Cardinals coming on board for a tour of the ship.

"Eight?" I asked.

"Yes," Del'tane answered. "You captain as navy's representative, and I'd like your helmsman as well. I would like to see their reaction to your rather, unique, companion."

"Very good then." I pressed the intercom button, "Shuttlebay."

"Shuttlebay here," came the reply.

"I need you to prep a Type 7."

"Aye, aye sir. It will be ready when you arrive."

"Shuttlebay in 15 minutes?" I asked Del'tane.

"Fine with me."

"Captains log, Stardate 13596.4. We are about to send our first diplomatic mission to the planet Wellbefallen. Wish us luck."

I left John with a few standing orders and headed to my quarters with Sara. I picked up my diplomatic pouch and pocketed its equipment. Sara had gathered up a tircorder as well. It was time to go planet side.

* * *

The shuttle landed at the somewhat primitive spaceport as another one was lifting off, using nuclear engines. Definitely primitive, I thought. Three representatives of the League of Cardinals met us at the spaceport. They didn't appear to be high-ranking individuals, and they were definitely nervous when they saw Sara. When we entered the spaceport building we found out why. As soon as we came through the doors a squad of men opened fire on Del'tane's bodyguards, dropping all three with explosive tipped bullets. By the time I had my phaser-1 out there was a gun pointed at Del'tane's head. They had the drop on us. Sara and I were disarmed, and my communicator and Sara's tricorder were taken. We were rough handled into a wheeled ground vehicle, not unlike a police paddy wagon. In fact it was a police vehicle! We were being driven to one of the towers in the capital. There we were held at gunpoint, for about half an hour. Then one of the Cardinals entered the room.

"Call your ship, captain, and order them to surrender."

"Like that's going to happen," I answered. That got me a rifle butt to the backside, dropping me to my knees.

"I think a taste of one of our few dungeons may change your mind! Take them away!"

Sara was separated from the rest of us. The four of us were marched into what basically was a medieval dungeon. We were chained to the walls.

"How cliché," I remarked.

"Shaddap!" The guard was not in a talkative mood, slamming the heavy steel door shut.

* * *

As soon as the Wellbeballen shuttle landed in the hangar bay, soldiers stormed out of it. It was a pretty brazen move, but not one well thought out. The greeting party, were outside of the shuttle bay, in the foyer / cargo handling area, and the shuttle bay controller was in his booth, behind transparent aluminum. The Mek-tac working the tractor controls simply grabbed the console and turned off the air barrier. With a woosh, there was a hard vacuum in the shuttle bay. The leaving air sucked out the soldiers closest to the end of the shuttle bay, and the rest didn't have oxygen supplies. It was simply a matter of waiting until they all passed out, collecting their weapons, restoring the air, and throwing the survivors into the brig. At least they knew why the commodore hadn't checked in.

* * *

"So how do we get out of this one?" Del'tane asked.

"Simple. We wait for Sara to get here and spring us," I answered.

"You have that much faith?"

"Not exactly. Mana-verse angels are not necessarily the same thing as biblical angels. Sara's species is called Battlegrace Angel, emphasis on the 'battle'. Think of her as a very tough, strong, winged humanoid with an indefinite lifespan. I expected her to be here by now."

A few minutes later sounds of a fight drifted in through the door, ending with the shrill sound of a phaser. I recognized the setting of disintegrate-2.

"Sara's really pissed," I announced as the door disappeared in a puff of photons. Sara stepped through the doorway, dragging along a guard that she held in a headlock. Seeing us chained up, Sara squeezed the guard's neck until he passed out, upon which Sara unceremoniously dropped him to the floor. Sara looked beat up. She even had a few holes blown into her wing feathers, and one wing was bleeding.

Seeing the look on my face, Sara said, "I will heal." She took the guards' keys and unlocked our chains. "Sorry I'm late. I had to find our equipment." That equipment included a small medical pouch that held a protoplaser. I used it to seal up the hole in Sara's wing, stopping the blood. Then she handed me my phaser. We quickly left the cell. No more guards showed up. Sara had apparently taken them all out. Del'tane, Drossn and Ondiru all picked up guards guns. They were short automatic rifles firing explosive rounds.

"I don't suppose they will let us waltz out the front door, will they?" Del'tane asked.

I held up my phaser, "I'll make my own exit as needed." I had set my phaser on disrupt-3. I was planning on blasting really big holes into the building when necessary. Disrupt-3 was the highest blast setting for a hand phaser. You could still take out a house-sized object with it. A quick tricorder scan revealed that we were three stories below ground, literally in a dungeon.

"Interesting. There is a set of steam tunnels running between the buildings," I announced.

"Not much of a prison," Sara stated.

"They don't have much in the way of prisons. Slavery is their usual sentence that they hand out. Saves money that way." I tried my communicator, with no luck.

We headed up a flight of stairs into a machinery floor. No one spotted us as we found the door to the steam tunnels. It was a standard issue industrial steel door. I burned my way through the lock, and we stepped inside into the hot and sweaty tunnel. I welded the door shut behind us, and then Sara led us down the dimly lit tunnel. We ended up in a generating station, which burned palletized garbage from the city, while the waste heat was used to heat the downtown core. The few employees didn't seem to notice us as we simply walked out of the building and into the cold night air, or at least weren't about to take on a party carrying guns. There was a sound like that of an umbrella being opened. Sara had spread her wings out to their fullest extent. Her wingspan was over 6 meters. "I'll be back," she stated as she took to the air. A sound like a cannon was heard coming from outside the city. Shortly thereafter a rocket was ascending on a plume of nuclear flame. A few seconds after that there was a bright flash in the upper atmosphere.

"They are quick studies, I'll give them that," I remarked.

"Are they trying to shoot down your starship?" It was Drossn who asked.

"No, something more effective. They are using nukes to ionize their own mesosphere. That makes this useless," I answered while holding up my communicator. "It also prevents the use of transporters as well," I stated while putting my communicator away.

Sara returned after a few minutes passed by. She had a smile miles wide.

"Enjoy your flight?" I asked, as we embraced. Del'tane had his first clue about our relationship.

"Extremely! I don't know if the '_Ques_t spotted me, though," Sara responded.

"Even if they did that ionization blast blocks both communications and transporters. They can't do anything unless John wants to put boots on the ground, and I ordered him not to."

"Why?" Sara was puzzled.

"Diplomacy, my lady," Del'tane answered. "Standing orders state that we are to interfere as little as possible. Although the Rim Worlds do not adhere to the Federation's General Order 1, we try to avoid committing acts of war.

"And what they did to us doesn't count?" Sara's ire was on the rise.

"It's all about honor, Sara," I interjected. Sara understood that concept really well. "Besides, I want my shuttle back." I walked over to a large van parked nearby. Testing the doors, I found the vehicle was unlocked. We got in. Looking over the controls, this should be an easy task for me. When was the last time I drove a car? The vehicle was electric, and had a top speed of about 50 km/h. Still it beat walking

"Do you have any idea where you are going?" Del'tane asked from the front passenger seat.

"Sure just follow the signs that say 'to spaceport'," I answered.

"You can read these signs?" Del'tane asked incredulously.

"They're written in English," I replied. The traffic lights were pretty standard too. We were just another delivery van taking cargo to the spaceport. An hour later we were pulling into a group of small industrial buildings in the area labeled 'General Aviation'. If that had the same meaning as it did in my past these would be small private companies.

Soon enough we broke into a small warehouse, stunned and trussed up the workers there, and took it over as our base of operations. Apparently our faces were all over the news feeds, as wanted felons. The crime: Imprisoning an angel! Time to do some scans. My section 31 tricorder should be able to scan the whole spaceport from here. I did a full sweep. Energy sources, vehicles, life forms, wired and wireless grids, the works. I wasn't expecting the scans that I got back.

"Uh, guys ... there's a Psychon on this planet."

"Nooo, it can't be." Sara took the tricorder and studied the scan. "Definitely a Psychon, two buildings over. I'll be back." Sara flew out the loading dock doors and into the stillness of the night. Five minutes later she returned, Psychon in tow. "This is Mira, a household slave for a wealthy Wellbefallen family."

"Mira ... Ellen's sister?" I asked.

"You know my sister Ellen?" A look of hope crossed Mira's expression.

"Yes, she's about 200 kilometers that way," I said while pointing up. "She's my science officer. We met while she was looking for you. She thinks you are dead."

"You need to know about this asteroid in the Kalif system..."

"Been there, done that, blew it up. How did you come to be here?" I asked.

"The Orion miners put me to work on their ship, and when they came to a planet called Covenant they sold me to this family, who owns their own private ship. It's an impulse only vessel, so even short trips take a long time. I was treated well, as I had nowhere to escape to, until now," Mira explained.

A deep rumble that traveled across the port and towards the city interrupted us. I looked out into the predawn sky and saw a beautiful sight, that of the _Faraway Quest_ cruising through the atmosphere as it headed for the city. Just because I ordered no boots on the ground didn't mean that he couldn't just land the ship. My communicator beeped. I had forgotten all about it.

"Commodore Michael here."

"Where are you?" It was K'tee.

"We are occupying a small warehouse near the spaceport, lock on to this signal and there are 6 to beam up. Have Ellen meet us in the transporter room." A moment later we were standing in our own transporter room. Ellen entered the room and stopped dead in her tracks. "It's a small galaxy after all."

Ellen and Mira embraced for the first time in over 5 years. I headed to the bridge, Sara in tow. Somebody up there has to be running the show. I took over my chair from John, and Sara slid into her place at the helm. We were still hovering over their spaceport, having disabled their launch center.

"Nothing in your orders said I couldn't take the '_Quest_ into the atmosphere and under their jamming," John stated.

"True enough." Now they were scurrying, as vehicles of all types left the spaceport area. Did they expect us to open fire? "Well, I still want my shuttle back." A tractor beam should do the trick.

"What about the prisoners and their shuttle?" John asked

"What, they actually sent someone up?"

"An assault team. Somebody needs to learn that to engage space targets you need your own air supply. The survivors are cooling their heels in the brig."

"OK, we'll drop them and their shuttle off at its range limit, so they have only one place they can get to." That's what we did. And we weren't being nice about it either.

Del'tane entered the bridge.

"So what now, ambassador?" I queried.

"We go home. And recommend that this planet be quarantined. And let it be publicly known what happened here. The A.O.F.W. is supposed to be sending a delegation as well. They will need to be warned off.

* * *

Two weeks into our return trip home, and Sara was feeling down. I knew why too. As soon as the day shift ended, we were in the turbo lift.

"Where are we going?" Sara had realized that this elevator trip was taking longer than the one to our quarters. I just smiled.

"Close your eyes." I told Sara when we left the lift. I took her by the hand and led her into a room...

"You can open your eyes now." We were in shuttle bay #1.

Sara was confused. "This shuttle bay..." she trailed off.

"Is only used for fighter operations. All of our regular shuttles operate out of bay #2. This space just sits here unused, most of the time. And it's called a _Flight Deck_."

"Oh. Ooohhh!" Sara spread her wings and flew to the other end of the bay. It was large enough that she could turn around and do laps. Then she flew back to me and gave me a rib-cracking hug. When she relented we were 3 meters off the ground. She put me down gently.

"As long as we aren't undergoing fighter operations this space is yours. Just don't play with any controls you don't know. Dinner at eight, don't be late!"

* * *

We reached Caractacalla, but didn't stay, beaming down with the remains of the diplomatic team. I stayed long enough for a state dinner, hanging out with the Aven delegation, and then returned to my ship. We were also saying goodbye to one of our own. Now that Ellen had actually found her sister, her original mission was complete. Ellen and Mira had half a decade of catching up to do.

Then it was on to Psyche and the shipyards at New Moria. Time to check on the hull integrity as we traveled through a series of gravitational rifts, mostly of our own making.

* * *

After our arrival in the Psyche system, there was shore leave for everybody. The '_Quest_ would be dry docked for about three weeks. The first _Chandler_ class cruiser was well under construction, and hulls of the 'cancelled' ships were finally under construction. I had some business in the outer solar system, then a vacation at my cabin. Sure enough I wasn't alone. Sara enjoyed the campfires at night even going as far as trying barbecue! By day she was with the birds. The Caitians were in the forest. This time I had no idea where Nergat had headed. Three weeks passed by rather quickly, but then it was time to return to the ship. When we arrived there was a request for all available ships to go to the base at Lorne. After checking standing orders (we had none) we pulled out for Lorne as one of those 'available ships'.


	12. The Spider's Kiss

**12: THE SPIDERS KISS**

The trip to Lorne took 10 days at warp 9. It was the perfect trip for a speed test being short and sweet. When we arrived there were a few ships in the system. Both the _Seeker_ and _Searcher_ were here, as the Aven shipyards were pounding out perimeter action ships as fast as they could. They definitely didn't want to be caught with their guard down again. The last gen-5 ship was the newly refitted _R.C.S. New Orleans_. Captain Thomas Becker sent greetings from his "new kick-ass starship". The rest of the ships here were a motley assortment of mostly gen-4 patrol craft, as well as one _Loknar_ class cruiser. It wasn't going anywhere as she was badly damaged. It turns out the _Loknar'_s story was the reason we all were here.

* * *

A familiar elf-dude had materialized in our transporter room. Ambassador Del'tane headed to the briefing room that held all the cruiser captains.

"I presume that you all have been briefed on the incident that happened in the Thule system 3 weeks ago." Apparently the _Loknar_ had tangled with a Tholian cruiser who entered the Thule system and fired on the planet. The smaller Tholian ship was destroyed, but the cruiser was damaged in the engagement. "This has happened once before, in the TYC 777-174-1 system, 22 years ago."

I looked up the system. "That system is uninhabited."

"It has been since the Tholians attacked it 22 years ago. A small Van'aar colony was wiped out at that time," Del'tane explained. Del'tane was Van'aar, and Lorne held his home planet. Their first and largest colony was Thule, a Confederation member by itself. "Thule was actually colonized twice, the first colony was wiped out by an unknown force 154 years ago. We have, obviously, re-colonized the planet. It now boasts 70 million inhabitants. We now believe that force was the Tholians, as well."

I clued. "But why attack a planet every 22 years?"

"That's the big unknown. But their M.O. has been the same. Send a lone scout to do the job, and when that fails respond in force. This time they used a patrol cruiser, last time the scout was smaller. In both cases the singleton ship was fought off. This time we expect the second response to be massive."

"By going after Thule, they are effectively declaring war on the Rim Worlds," I stated. I was already planning a counter-attack.

"The Tholians don't see it that way. They never responded to diplomacy, and they never followed up the initial attack. It's as if this was some ritual that they felt they had to perform. I don't think that the Rim Worlds is ready for an all out war with the Holdfast."

"So we stand on the defensive, and let it slide?"

"I'm afraid that that's all the Council is willing to do at this time. This will be a two-pronged operation. The four fast cruisers should head out for a direct intercept of the Tholian fleet. The rest of the ships are to go to Thule, to mount the second defense there," Del'tane explained. Those ships were to be joined by other ships, including the now operational _Confederate Union_. "What we need from you four is intel on the size and capabilities of the Tholian fleet, as well as to provide delaying and harrying tactics. There are three small scouts heading out from Thule as we speak, heading on the most probable approach routes that the Tholians would take. Their job is to alert you the moment they find anything."

With that we were bade good luck by Del'tane. He was heading with the fleet to Thule. My plan was simple move the smaller fleet out to a spot to the north of the Medusa Nebula, and wait for the scouts to report. That would allow us to intercept a fleet coming in on any of the three vectors, as well as a chance to spot a fleet coming from somewhere else.

Directions in three dimensions were interesting. The Milky Way Galaxy was a flattened disk, of stars and gas and dust orbiting a common center, where a large black hole was. The three coordinates that defined an objects position in the galaxy corresponded to three directions.

The first was either core-ward or rim-ward, pointed to or from the center of the galaxy. This was the middle or 'Y' coordinate. The first or 'X' coordinate went either against the direction of the galaxies' rotation or with it, called spinward, or anti-spinward. That left "up" and "down". These were called North and South respectively, and was the last, 'Z' coordinate. Thus 'north of the Medusa Nebula' would actually be above it when the galaxy is considered a disk.

* * *

We were in position for over a week when we received the call. The Scout _Zenophon_ had encountered the Tholian fleet and was currently running from it. From their position and direction we plotted an intercept course. The Tholian fleet had barely left the Holdfast when the scout spotted it, leaving us with plenty of intercept time. The size of the fleet is what bothered me, 20 ships, and these would be all generation-4. Unfortunately the scout didn't get in close to do scans of the Tholian ships. That was our job. We set up an intercept course, and headed out to meet the Tholian Fleet.

* * *

Our first encounter was inconclusive. There were 20 ships in the Tholian fleet, but two of them were new designs. It appeared that nobody had seen them before. 12 of the others were typical Tholian cruisers, built by mating two patrol cruiser hulls together. Another 4 were called 'Tholian Dreadnoughts' a mating of three hulls together. Compared with most other races, the 'dreadnoughts' were really the equivalent to a 4th generation light cruiser. The two patrol cruisers seemed to be stock, while the two new ship designs were the big unknown. The other ships capabilities could be looked up in the database, so 18 ships were known entities, but the other two were unknowns. That still left the four Rim Worlds cruisers out-gunned.

Our only advantage was in the speed department. We went in and strafed two of the dreadnoughts, causing them to break off and return to Tholian space. But at this rate at least half of the fleet would make it to Thule, and we didn't know who would be able to defend the Van'aar colony. We settled in on an attrition style strategy. The 4 ships would veer into the Tholian fleet, target a single ship, and try to disable it. Each attack took between 4 and 6 hours, so we could only attack a maximum of three ships a day. Unfortunately, the Tholians had reacted to our tactics and rotated their ships in and out of their current fleet duties. Each ship had changed its profile and role in the fleet, but the main theme was the protection of the two new fleet units.

We would have to take those new ships head on if we were going to make a dent in the Tholian attack fleet. Their abilities were currently unknown, and we were running out of time. We could strip them of their escorts by the time they reached Thule, but that would leave two relative unknowns by the time they reached the Thule defense fleet, with the possibility of a further follow up. This was the first time anyone tried to stop the Tholians on their 22-year cycle.

* * *

I had a bold plan. It was risky, but if it worked, we would be able to cripple the Tholian fleet before it reached Rim Worlds space. As the Tholians were reluctant to engage with their two new ships we would hit them head on and go after those two ships. Our goal was the disabling of those two ships above all else. But after all this time we really had not got 'into the face' of the new ships. It was time to change that.

We regrouped and headed right 'down their throats'. The four cruisers were going to cut right into the heart of their fleet and directly engage the unknown cruisers. It was a risky gambit, but we needed to know what those ships were capable of.

* * *

We found out that the 'Neo-Tholian' ships had a new version of a familiar Tholian weapon. As we closed, a blob of plasma appeared in front of us. The 'Quest was unable to avoid it. As soon as we struck the blob of plasma, we came to a screeching halt, immobilized by the blob. Alarms sounded throughout the ship. We had encountered a new weapon, which we dubbed a _Web Caster_. Unlike the older ships, which had to immobilize their prey first, the web caster could trap an opposing ship on the fly. And we were the first ship to fall into that particular trap. We were still fully armed and operational though. We used our 'hot magazine' to double our torpedo firepower, and managed to destroy one of the new Tholian ships. Unfortunately this close to Tholian territory, the fabric of space-time was relatively thin, as interphase space occurred here often, as the Federation could attest. As soon as we fired upon the second 'Neo-Tholian' ship, a gravity wave struck the _Faraway Quest_, casting it into a dimension-less existence. One of the Tholian patrol cruisers had also entered the interphase with the Rim Worlds Cruiser. To our surprise the Tholian ship collided with the _'Quest_, in a ghostly way embedding itself into the ships hull just aft of the port phaser array. When the pair of ships emerged into the regular universe, the super-imposed parts of both ships simply ceased to exist.

Unfortunately for both ships, the location where they emerged from the interphase rift was unknown. The Tholian patrol cruiser was cut in two, while the section of the _'Quest_ that was superimposed with the Tholian disappeared. Shortly after the _Faraway Quest_ reappeared in the universe there was a titanic explosion as the remains of the Tholian cruiser exploded. The blast rocked the _'Quest_, and the crew was plunged into darkness.

On the bridge the gravity went out, causing the crew to float about, in pitch-blackness. After what seemed to be an eternity, the emergency lights came on, dimly illuminating the floating bridge crew. Sara was able to fly around the bridge and anchor the crewmembers to their stations, finally reaching the commodore. She then embraced me and waited until the ship righted itself. We waited, and waited, and waited. Eventually the lights came back on and the gravity returned to the ship. The rest of the bridge crew watched the angel and the commodore smooching while we waited, or studiously ignored us. Hey if the ships' commander and helm are smooching in zero-gee, the power failure can't be that bad. The ship returned to some semblance of normal, and I hit the intercom button and tried to get a hold of engineering.

"Engineering," came back the voice over the intercom. "Partial power has been restored, but both warp drive and impulse are off-line."

"What about the _'Sister_," I enquired.

"We are currently using the _'Sister_ to power the auxiliary systems on the _'Quest_. Our current power supply is the _'Sister's_ engines and the _'Quest's_ batteries. That's it for power at this time. There was feedback through the lost plasma conduits from the collision. The warp reactor is down and impulse is overloaded. It will take some time to restore power thorough out the ship." At least we both had the same idea for getting power.

"Nergat, bring up scanners and lets see if we can find out where we are."

"It's definitely not Kansas, anymore..." Nergat commented, while scanning. That brought a snicker from everyone but Sara.

"Locally we are inside the warp wall of a F-2 main sequence star. That's probably what dropped us out of the interphase. There is a gas-giant planet less than 0.1 AU away," Nergat informed.

"Sara, take us to that planet, best speed," I ordered.

"Max thrusters it is," she replied. We started on an agonizingly slow trip to the planet. The power from the sister meant that we were traveling at the 'breakneck' speed of 4 million km/h. That might sound fast, but in interplanetary terms the ship took three hours to reach the gas-giant planet.

"Status Change!" Loran stated. "A new contact just crossed the warp wall."

"Sara, put us into this planets north magnetic pole please," I ordered. She quickly set up that short trip. "We need to identify that contact."

Loran was scanning. "Contact is ... a Sidon destroyer as a best guess. The ship is a new configuration, but has definite Sidon characteristics, and Federation ones."

We moved into the gas-giants magnetic pole, in effect 'borrowing' a cloaking device off of the planet. As long as we ran passive scanners, we should remain undetected. Sure enough the Sidon destroyer passed the planet in a journey towards the star of the system. Its target was not that far away.

"Three contacts about 0.1 AU from our position." Loran interjected. "The destroyer appears to be on an intercept course."

"Can you identify the new contacts?" I queried.

"They appear to be nuclear powered large shuttles of some type. Checking library computer ... That's interesting."

"What's interesting?" I asked.

"They are 'Eagle' class transport shuttles, according to the database. They were Earth-built and in service about 500 years ago."

We watched the Sidon destroyer fire on the shuttles. Two were destroyed immediately, while the third appeared to be disabled. The destroyer did not stop, but continued into the inner solar system ignoring the damaged shuttle that it crippled.

"Scan those shuttles." I ordered.

"Scannng ... Two have been destroyed, while the third has been disabled. There are life signs aboard the remaining shuttle." Loran concluded.

"Sara,"

"Leaving the gas-giant and heading out on a rescue intercept." Sara seemed used to reading my mind by now. As the ship left the gas-giant planet power levels reset on board. Engineering had announced that the warp core was back online, providing power. Unfortunately, the plasma conduits to the warp nacelles were blown out, leaving the ship crippled, speed wise. With the additional power reaching the Eagle took only 1 hour, at sublight.

* * *

Allan was at the controls of the crippled eagle transport when the form of a large ship passing overhead blotted out the stars above. The 400 meter long hull slowly passed by, and the rear shuttle bays came into view. "Holy cow!" He muttered, as the ship passed by. But the bays were marked with 1 and 2 respectively, in good old-fashioned earth numbers. And the name was proudly displayed. "I think it's going to be OK," he informed his passengers.

* * *

"Bring the shuttle into bay 2 and disembark the survivors," I ordered.

"Aye, aye," came the response. I headed to the briefing room. Time to meet our guests.

There were three persons, on the 'Eagle' when we brought it aboard. We had to isolate its engines as they were leaking radiation all over the place. Two were human, and the third ... was a Psychon.

"I'm Commodore Michael, commander of the _R.C.S. Faraway Quest_," I began.

"Lieutenant Allan Carter, eagle pilot," the first man said as we shook hands.

"Tony Verdeschi, security"

"Maya, science officer," the Psychon finally mentioned.

We sat down and I looked up their records, actually finding them! "Allan Carter, born Australia 2166."

"That's correct," he replied

"Welcome to the late 27th century," I replied. "The question is why were the three of you kept alive?" I was looking directly at Maya. "This is the scan of the Sidon destroyer that attacked you." I answered while firing up the main viewer.

"Did you say a SIDON destroyer attacked us?"

"That's correct. We appear to be in Sidon space. Note the first two eagles are fired at with full power guns." The display showed us the firing sequence and the equivalent firepower of the attacks, two gigawatts. The third shot was a surgical slicing up the remaining eagles engines with an equivalent firepower of 0.1 GW. "Somebody wanted one of you alive," I stated.

"One of us?" Maya asked.

"Yes, you, specifically. The only good human is a dead one as far as the Sidons are concerned. What they want with a Psychon is anyone's' guess."

Tony asked, "How did you know Maya is a Psychon?"

"Because I happen to live on a planet full of them. New Psychonia has a population of about 40 million, about 95% Psychons.

"There is a whole planet of my people?" Maya asked, incredulously.

"Last time I checked, which was about 2 months ago. I have a nice little cabin just outside of a small town on the northern hemisphere."

Sara briefly entered the briefing room, and that got everybody's attention. "Impulse power has been restored."

"Finally some good news. Now get after that Sidon. If he finds Alpha he's going to bomb it out of existence. The Sidons have had a beef with humans for some reason. When they found out that one of the heads of the Federation was Earth they attacked its colonies along their border. That led to Larson's War, and the Federation has still a declaration of war with the Sidons although nobody has done any shooting for the last 68 years," I explained.

"The reason the Sidons hate us is _Voyager One_," Allan stated.

I looked the name up in the computer. "A Queller-drive ship."

"Yes, we first encountered the Sidons when they were following the _Voyager_ back to Earth. It had wiped out all life on two of their planets, since the engines wouldn't shut down properly.

"If I recall history correctly the other Queller-drive ship wiped out one of our own asteroid bases in the Solar system."

"That was _Voyager Two_ in 2185," Allan stated.

"We didn't encounter the Sidons until 2623-" A chime sounded. I hit the intercom.

"Shuttle bay to commodore. That _Eagle_ class shuttle has to be ejected. The radiation levels are too high."

"Then make sure it's unloaded," I commanded.

I was about to resume the conversation when Sara came over the intercom. "Commodore to the bridge," her beautiful voice sounded.

"I guess we are about to deal with that Sidon. If you will excuse me..." I left the shuttle crew in the briefing room and returned to the bridge. As I reached the bridge, the Sidon was on the main view screen. We are closing on that destroyer.

"It's a typical generation-3 ship with a catch," Loran stated. "The warp drive has a Federation drive signature."

"That's not actually unexpected. Admiral Larson's fleet was 'gen three' and if some of them were captured, the Sidons would have a little boost. What's surprising is that the Sidons have not developed anything since. This must be a Dilithium poor region of space..."

"Regardless of that ships tech, it will reach this asteroid before we can intercept it," Loran concluded. The asteroid matched the configuration of the asteroid Ceres, formerly of the solar System, and driven into the void by an explosion if the nuclear waste dumps that we put there. Base Alpha, the home of our guests, was on that asteroid.

"Status change!" Sara stated. "There is a new contact on the forward scanners. It's an impulse vessel..." there was a pause.

Loran interjected, "Computer identifies it as a _Swift_ class ship, Terran from the end of the 22nd century."

"It looks like Alpha has got a ship off the ground," I replied. "Too bad it won't make a difference. That Sidon has the firepower advantage. As soon as we're in range let it have it. Torpedo room," I called, while pressing the intercom.

"Torpedo room," came the reply.

"How is our torpedo supply?"

"We have 7 torpedoes left in the hot magazine, and we are cut off from the antimatter stream. We have 7 rounds total at this time."

"We might need all 7. Stand by."

With the oversized impulse engine that was mounted on both the _Avenger _and _Knox_ classes, designed to power the mega-phaser cannon, the _'Quest_ could run at maximum impulse speeds and have power left over. Thus we could close on the Sidon destroyer while it found the Earth colony on Base Alpha. Unfortunately for it, the time it took to take out the _Swift,_ we closed to weapon's range and started to unload our torpedoes. Then the battle became one-sided. The photon torpedoes smashed through the Sidon's shields and a crippling blow with our phasers ensued. The ship suffered a catastrophic failure of its warp core and exploded, leaving an expanding ball of plasma. The _Faraway Quest_ came to a stop over the base. We used our computer files to 'break into the base's computer'. A tall gaunt man appeared on the screen.

"Greetings, John Koenig," I stated.

"Why does everybody that contacts us already know my name?" He asked.

"Because you are in the historical database," I replied. "That Sidon destroyer was gunning for you, so it has been dealt with."

"You are from Earth?" The commander asked.

"Not exactly. Although I was born there, I am now a resident of the Rim Worlds Confederacy. If you want to get to Earth I can oblige, but be warned, it's going to be a round-about trip."

"We had a trio of Eagles exploring the outer system for raw materials..."

"Which were destroyed by the Sidon. We will be arriving by shuttle." I finished.

* * *

I had taken a type-7 shuttle to the base, landing on one of the pads. I don't think that they were expecting any survivors from their shuttles, so Allan, Tony, and Maya came as a complete surprise. It was a brief reunion while I introduced the angel Sara and myself to the Alphans. Sara was an attention getter regardless of where she was from. An angel was that much a celebrity among any group of humans when she appeared. I played it up a bit, but relented when I was questioned. The story of Sara was revealed to the Alphans. Apparently, the revelation that there was a planet full of Psychons was also unexpected. The Sidon attack was new to the Alphans. The explosion of the Tholian ship had first attracted their attention to this system. Our appearance out of the interphase had triggered the Sidons to the location of the base, and the attack on the shuttles, specifically.


	13. Return of the

**13: RETURN OF THE ...**

We were in orbit above the moon base known as Alpha, late of the 22nd century. But it was Stardate 13750. The original crew had an interesting story, as they only left the solar system 7 years ago, according to their clocks. For most everyone else, 5 centuries had passed by. I wasn't the only one unstuck in time. The situation was somewhat grim. We were in the middle of hostile territory, with a damaged starship. Two things were wrong with it. First there was a section of hull missing, and we need 23 meters of plasma conduit to join the warp core to the nacelles. For the first problem we could only seal off the missing space. The second was just a matter of time and materials to make up some conduit. We were 'relaxing' from our combat status while hanging out with the Alphans. We needed tri-titanium for our plasma conduits, which the Alphans could provide, but at a slow rate. But we were intermingling with their crews, as we all were lost 'humans' trying to find our home. It was like finding another base full of kindred spirits, to us.

* * *

Three weeks after we arrived at Alpha our ship was as repaired as it was going to be, outside of a shipyard. We had warp drive back online as well as half of our transporters. The port side emitters happened to be on the now-missing section of the hull. That left us with our starboard transporters still operational. The plasma conduits also brought our wing phasers back online, and we refilled our 'hot' torpedo magazines, just in case. It turned out that that was a good idea. I was in Alpha's command center when my communicator beeped.

"We have a new vessel entering the system." It was Loran.

"Can you patch the scan through to the main viewer here?" Soon there was an image of an unfamiliar ship on the command center's main screens. The Alphans went deathly quiet, as they obviously recognized it. "That bad, huh?" I broke into their silence.

"That's a Dorcon ship!" Maya gasped.

"At least that pins down where we are," I stated.

"And how does it do that?" Koenig asked.

"Rumor has it that there is a common Sidon – Dorcon border on the opposite side of Sidon space from the Federation. At least according to the Gorn there is.

"Yea, well what do you know about Meson converters?" Tony asked.

"Well, the Federation has done some research on using them as a warp core, but that was over 50 years ago. They abandoned that design as they already had a superior dilithium moderated generation-4 warp core in their starships."

"And what about your ship?"

"My ship sports photon torpedoes and a trigger happy helmsman," I joked.

"Maya's not safe here," Tony stated.

"That much is certain. That ship would slice through _your_ defenses like a hot knife through butter," I answered as I pulled out my communicator. "John, I have one to beam up." Then I tossed the communicator to Maya. "Catch."

Maya caught the communicator, and then the shimmer of the transporter field surrounded her a moment later.

Just after Maya disappeared the Dorcon ship actually faded out, only to reappear over the base. "Well that's a neat trick. I guess we won't be fighting them at impulse!" That was a trick that I had not seen before. Best way to describe it would be an inverse transporter. Now the ship just sat there.

Allan finally asked, "What are they waiting for, Commander?"

"I don't know. But they should be transporting down soon."

"I bet that that little trick of theirs has a cycle time on their gravitational emitters. You can't just beam your ship across a solar system and expect transporters to be ready to go." Eventually a blue continuous beam connected the Dorcon ship and the base. Three individuals appeared in command center, a tall humanoid woman, flanked by two guards.

"I am Consul Vass, of the Federated Worlds of Dorcon," the lady said.

"We know why you are here, Consul Vass. There are no Psychons here." Koenig replied.

"When I confirm that, I will leave you in peace." She then activated a wrist mounted device, and panned a beam across all the people there, then pointed it at me.

"Strange, you are not a Psychon, but I don't get a reading on you."

"That's because I'm actively blocking it," I replied. I made a spectacle of placing my tricorder, on the desk in front of me. The guards started toward me. "Stand down your guards before you lose them." Consul Vass said nothing. Fine, lets see what a fast draw and some fast nadions could do. At this range I just flashed the phasers from the hip, and to the surprise of everyone else, both guards dropped to the ground like sacks of potatoes. "I did warn you."

"Who is this?" Consul Vass demanded of Koenig.

"I am Commodore Michael, commander of the _R.C.S. Faraway Quest_," I answered.

"R.C.S.?" she queried.

"Rim Worlds Confederate Ship."

"So ... there is no Psychon on this base because you have her on your ship."

"Very astute –"

"Where is your ship then 'Commodore'?" Vass finally demanded.

"Most likely beating your ship into snail snot by now," I concluded. The consul pressed another button on her wrist. Nothing happened. She tried again.

"Incoming signal commander," Alibe stated.

"On screen," Koenig ordered.

Sara appeared sitting in the captain's chair. Even Consul Vass was impressed. "Lieutenant Sara! Where's John?" I queried.

"He's on board the _Quannarion_," Sara answered. "He's currently in command of it. I will have him patched in."

"I guess they decided not to beat the snot out if it after all," I mentioned to the consul. A moment later both Sara and John were up on split-screen. John was on the Dorcon operations deck with Brent and two other Mek-Tacs. While the Dorcon transport beam was active their shields weren't, so the Mek-Tacs all beamed over and boarded it. This wasn't the first time an alien crew was taken out by the Mek-Tacs. "How goes the battle?"

"Short and sweet. The Dorcons are all trussed up and under guard. Their current Archon is also on board. He is being confined to his quarters," John answered.

"There are three Dorcons currently on Alpha. When Consul Vass' guards wake up we will be beaming up to the _Quannarion_," I decided. "We'll use our transporters." I wasn't going to use one that requires a continuous wave stabilizer, not when my own transporters were miles better.

When the guards awoke from their overly heavy stun blasts, Consul Vass, her guards, Koenig, and myself beamed first into one of our transporter rooms, then to her operations center. The only part of my ship that the Dorcons saw was the transporter controller and two heavily armed guards, both Psychon, who joined us on the pad. Dorcon ships have a different design philosophy. They have an operations center instead of a separate bridge and engineering control room. Apparently many of their systems were built using the combined usage design.

"Well, this is it," John stated. "The main controller for their meson converter. Unfortunately for them they cant walk and chew gum at the same time."

"What do you mean?" I asked while Vass and her guards were led away.

"Basically they have only one main power source. This meson converter powers the entire ship," Brent explained. "Unlike our ship there is no impulse or any other backup that we can find. They have a single nuclear battery backing up life support but that's it."

"So they actually have no impulse engines..."

"None at all. They have the meson converter feeding into one set of warp coils at the ships' aft. Then they feed the meson converters power into a massive set of capacitor banks for their continuous wave transporter, and can wormhole the entire ship through space. The maximum range is about 7 AU, if you are not picky about the accuracy of your destination. The same system us used to directly work as their ships transporter beam – they only have the one. Then it's thrusters."

"So what is this ships combat capability?" I asked.

"The ships deflectors are gen-3, providing a total protection factor of about 45 to 50. She is armed with both beam and pulse disruptors, having the firepower of a D-7A. Top speed is warp 6.5, but that's a continuous number. The warp coils are extra-heavy, small nacelle type. The converter is also oversized. It actually produces more juice than the _'Quest_."

"Well, this ship is larger than the _'Quest_," I replied. "Even with a top end of 6.5 that would take ... over 100 gigawatts for a ship this size."

"That meson converter pumps out over 200!" Brent exclaimed. "And the meson decay is required by the transporter system."

"So what are we going to do with this ship and the Dorcons?" John Koenig asked.

"Pull their teeth and kick them out. Brent I want you to disable their weapons and that transporter system. Then we will explain to the Dorcons the terms of their parole."

* * *

The Psychons escorted Consul Vass and the Archon back to their own operations center, ironically. "I do not usually find myself under the guard of a Psychon," the Archon stated.

"You'd better get used to that if you try to go after them again. First off, you no longer have weapons or transporters. Secondly, New Psychonia is a member of the Rim Worlds Confederacy, and guess what. You're playing with the big boys now. Your technology isn't at the top of the heap anymore. You have the Gorn to the south of you, and the Romulans to the rim of you. If you try to cross either of their territories, they will kick your ass so hard you will be farting out the top of your head." I left him with that particular image as I went on, "You're being allowed to leave, and I don't want to see you back. The next time you show up the _'Quest _will simply take you out. She's chewed up entire fleets of ships like this one. Just be lucky that my X.O. decided a nice safe boarding was in, instead of just wiping the floor with you. You at least will be able to leave. The ship is yours." With that, we beamed out, leaving the Dorcons to their own devices.

"Could you have taken them out that easily?" Koenig asked while we were in the transporter room. The two of us were beaming back down to Alpha.

"At point blank range trading alpha strikes, they would barely survive the first one. The second would turn them into vapor. We've seen their weapons. Our shields will stop their entire alpha strike," I responded.

"So you weren't kidding about your ships' capabilities."

"No. The '_Quest_ is a gen-5 heavy cruiser. Currently the only thing wrong with her is a missing chunk of hull." We were watching the _Quannarion_ limp to the hyper limit on thruster power. It would take them about a day on thrusters. And no I didn't feel sorry about them. I knew about the Dorcons from Amek when he was aboard the _7__th__ Sister_.

* * *

At that point we decided to work on improving the defenses of Alpha. The quickest way to bring up their firepower was to send down all of the photon missiles, and build a launcher for them. That also meant sending down the three thunderbolt fighters, as those missiles were their main armament. Allan decided to train on one of the fighters. Both the launcher and the fighters were based on the science outpost overlooking the base. A deflector shield was also installed both for defense and in case a mishap occurred with the missiles, which had to be brought down hot. No point in accidentally blowing up the entire base. Increasing the power of the bases shielding proved more difficult. Power was sufficient from the nuclear reactors, but we had to build each from scratch from materials mined in the catacombs. A month later we were finished, and that left all of us wondering what the Sidons were up to.

* * *

It wasn't long before we found out what the Sidons were up to. Apparently the destroyer managed to get a communication out, which must have included some telemetry about our skirmish. There were back, and this time in force. Seven ships were rolling in, with a dreadnought as flagship. There were two cruisers, larger than the destroyer that we encountered before, and a destroyer of the same class as the one we took out. The remaining three ships were escorts, and they were the smallest in that fleet.

_Not Good_, I thought. There's enough firepower to take all of us out, if they play their cards right. "Nergat, I need you to take out the 'Sister..."

"On my way," Nergat replied.

"What if I assist him?" Sara asked.

"Only if you're sure you can survive the vacuum of space. This might be a one way trip," I warned.

"I can survive with your life link for many hours," Sara responded. "You might want a pain-killer in hand just in case."

"Make sure you both have ELT's with you at ALL times," I ordered.

"Aye, aye," was the response from both of them. They realized that the _'Sister_ may well be destroyed in this battle. Yet the Battlegrace Angel and the Horta were willing to take that risk. If any of my crew would survive a ship being blasted out from under them it was Sara and Nergat.

We had the _Faraway Quest_, a gen-5 heavy cruiser, the _7__th__ Sister_, a gen-6 specialty small ship, and three Thunderbolt fighters against a dreadnought, two cruisers, a destroyer, and 3 escorts, all gen-3. This would be definitely interesting, if nothing else. The most powerful ship was definitely the '_Quest,_ but the next in line was definitely the dreadnought. The _'Sister _was actually more powerful than the escorts, but there were three of them.

As the fleet moved in, the _'Sister_ detached and was flying in formation with the '_Quest_. Then the Sidon fleet broke into two elements. Their opening move was a tactical error that decided the fight then and there. The first flight had the dreadnought, one cruiser, the destroyer, and an escort. The other had the second cruiser, and the two remaining escorts. The _'Sister_ would engage the lone cruiser and her escorts, while I would take on the dreadnought.

I was going for a 'in-your-face' style of conflict with the Sidons. We simply ran down their throats, and engaged the dreadnought directly. With a full hot magazine we effectively had 4 forward torpedo tubes until the first 40 torpedoes were launched. That's a lot of torpedoes! Although it was larger than the _'Quest_, it wasn't that much larger, and it was two generations of ship lower than the _'Quest_. The first thing I did was 'roll ship' so I would engage only the dreadnought on the first pass. We flipped over, presenting our shield poles to the escorting fleet. The only ship we engaged was the DN. Even with its aura of toughness, it was little more than a gen-3 heavy cruiser, barely 20% larger than the _'Quest_. We closed to point blank range and dropped an alpha strike into her. With double torpedoes, we smashed through her shields and started our mauling. Three of our four torpedoes hit, the third one smashing through her shields and blasting a hole in her hull. Then came the phasers, all 12 of them, smashing ships systems and rendering her useless. Much to the surprise of the Sidons, our forward shields barely held from the dreadnought's onslaught, meaning we passed through their fleet essentially unscathed. Rolling the ship had prevented any attacks from the escorts from getting through. But it meant that all our shields were down, and we needed a long 'swing around ' to let our shields regenerate.

We swung around in a wide arc to engage the next ship. Our shields weren't completely up but we had no choice, the next target was the cruiser. The smaller ship suffered from the ability to block the heavy hitting photon torpedoes. The first brought down her shields, and the other three were on target. By the time the phasers had fired, she was a hulk. But this pass stripped our shields and left us open to counterattack. At least the only ships left in this fleet were the destroyer and the escort, and both were smaller than the _'Quest_. No guts, no glory. It would probably hurt, but we needed to take out those two ships. Our shields were down but our weapons were superior to the Sidon ships. Back down their throats, with a full alpha strike as our hot torpedo magazine was less than half empty.

This time we traded like for like. We had the firepower advantage needed to slice through their shields, but our shields were shredded. We felt their return fire. Alarms sounded through out the bridge as systems took hits. At least our ship was tough, and after wiping out the destroyer and escort, we were relatively intact, with some systems damaged, but none fatally. Now it was time to look for the other ships.

There was no sign of the _7__th__ Sister_. But then again there was no sign of the other cruiser. One of the escorts escorting the cruiser was also missing, apparently taken out by the thunderbolt fighters. The last escort was over Alpha, bombarding it. We headed in to an attack run and when we had the range we opened fire with our torpedoes. The last Sidon exploded. The attack was over. The base was in dire shape, and the _'Sister_ was missing. We found two ELT's and beamed aboard the _'Quest_ Sara and Nergat. My _Mission_ class courier was toast. Sara sent it in on a collision with the cruiser, and Nergat beamed them out at the last second. Only one _Thunderbolt_ fighter remained from the Alpha contingent and the ground launcher was also destroyed, along with the entire science station. As we returned to orbit, we found that Alpha itself was done. The main life support and the main power reactors were knocked out. We took Allan on board bay #1 with the last remaining Thunderbolt Fighter. The final score was the _'Quest_ suffered only moderate damage to her systems. She would still be operational for rescue operations. The only remaining ships were 1 Thunderbolt fighter, which Allan Carter landed in shuttle bay #1, and the _'Quest_ herself. We sent down all available shuttles to Alpha. Then we beamed down to see for our self the damage. The base was in dire straits. Much of the structure was uninhabitable, and the main power reactors were knocked out. I joined the Alphans in their conference.

"Look, the base is dead. Just face it." I stated. All your power systems are out, and most of your life support has been destroyed. In 6 hours this place is going to resemble a frozen pizza. It's time to leave..."

John Koenig reluctantly agreed. At least there was a place to evacuate to, the _R.C.S. Faraway Quest_. The Alphans made arrangements to beam up to the _'Quest_, and journey with us back to Earth based territory.

* * *

The long journey home was underway. We were traversing Sidon space on a direct return line to Federation space. We were deep in enemy territory, but we had an advantage, that of speed. We could simply overrun any opposition that we met, and used our speed advantage to avoid contacts in the first place. The major problem was the fact that we had to cross over 90 parsecs of Sidon space. Even at warp 8 that would take 30 days. Those would be 30 mail-biting days. We were not equipped to take on the entire Sidon fleet! The trip actually took 44 days, as we flew a path that avoided F, G, and K main sequence stars, and their inhabited worlds. Even then we were in four skirmishes. But that was all they were. We traded rounds en passant but didn't stop to engage, leaving our pursuers in our dust. As soon as each group fell out of sensor range a drastic course change and we were again lost in the vast darkness.

Now we were at a dead stop. Just outside the Branzdon system. Good thing our sensors are better than the Sidons. They had decided that their fleet would mass at the colony of Branzdon III. Since they couldn't catch the '_Quest_, the set up a web to catch her at the very end of Sidon space. It was a straight line from here to Federation Starbase 34. What bought us to a screeching halt was also the reason the Sidons wanted anything to do with a Psychon. There were 4 Dorcon ships at main command centers of the web. The Dorcons have some kind of treaty with the Sidons. And was why the last eagle was spared. That also meant another threat: Gravitic mines. We knew the Dorcons have them from their own database. The only effective way to prevent us from blasting through their web would be gravitic mines.

_That's a nice Christmas present for someone_.

We were in the briefing room. "We have two options. Ramrod through the web, or go around it," John concluded. "If we ramrod through we should punch through where a group of ships already is. That way if they have set up a minefield any other ships of theirs will have to cross it themselves."

"Good idea but what if they placed mines in front or behind their ship groupings. The only way to get a good look at their web's structure is to waltz up to it. Exactly what we don't want to do," replied Allan. Allan had by this time decided to stay on with the crew of the _'Quest_.

"Actually there is another way to get a good look at that web. Time-lapse interferometry," I informed Allan.

"But to get the synthetic aperture we need, we would have to use the impulse engines, and risk discovery," John added.

"And you can't just go around it," Sara interjected.

_And just what do you know about starship combat tactics?_ I thought.

"I might not know about multi-ship tactics, but I _am_ an arial combatant, and I have seen this web pattern before. It's a sun-web," Sara responded. Oops. I forgot about the telepathic part of the life link. Better not think that loudly. "A sun web is designed to funnel its prey to another waiting trap."

"And the Sidons would pile all these resources up just to get us?"

"No, but the Dorcons would to get a hold of the last available Psychons. In fact I'm surprised that they didn't pull out all the stops on this one, since they are involved. We'll go with the time-lapse scans.

I ordered the beta shift, currently on the bridge to run a scan at impulse but the course was backwards, almost directly away from the web. We waited for the data to be processed.

"Suggestions?" I asked.

"We could take a week and go completely around it," John stated.

"Or we could punch through here," Sara pointed at a small group of ships. "We would drop to impulse here and cross this minefield, then take those ships in a running battle at warp."

Sara favored the direct approach, and never shied away from a fight. Then I noticed something. "Take a look at the scans of Branzdon itself. Tell me what you see."

"There's a lot of civilian shipping in there," Allan stated. "Take a look at that stack of Dorcon freighters. And if they are only one stage of a relay..."

"Then the minefield could be big enough to take a week to go around," John concluded. "We don't have a week. They can do math and can figure out how far we have gone. They would be pulling in patrol ships and the chances of not being spotted are bad. There is enough firepower in any part of that web to intercept us if we are spotted."

Sara chimed in. "Take a look at these Sidon freighters here. They are leaving Branzdon. There doesn't appear to be any mines in their paths."

"That probably is because there aren't any. With that much freighter traffic in the system they could bomb one of their own ships by mistake..."

The room went silent as everybody almost could hear the gears turning in my head.

Sara finally said, "You've got that look."

"Yeah, It just might work," I stated. "Sail right through the Branzdon system at sub-light while going completely doggo.

"But if they do discover us we're toast."

"But they can't unless they almost collide with us."

"How long from dark till we spool up the engines?"

"20 minutes."

"That's to long."

"We could do it the moment it looks like we were discovered."

"How minimal would power use be?"

"Just heat and oxygen. No exterior lights or gravitic emissions."

"Not even gravity?"

"Not if we're truly doggo."

"And we go on cold rations," I concluded. "The question is, can we make it through the Branzdon system?"

"Yes," answered K'tee. "You've done it before."

"No, the risk is too great," John answered. He was an experienced navy guy. But we had done this before, in fact half of my bridge crew were experts at it, and I informed John of the fact. "You're that confident?" He finally asked.

"Yes I am," I stated matter of factly.

"World hates a coward," He finally relented.

* * *

We were tumbling down the darkness at an almost relativistic speed as we passed through the Branzdon system. All energy signatures on board the _'Quest_ were shut down. No running lights, no warp or impulse power, no artificial gravity. The crew had to float to their stations! No smooching this time. Interior lights were at a minimum, and only basic passive scanners were active. We were passing through the system as a 'hole' in space. Much to everyone's relief, we passed through the system uneventfully. Nobody knew we were there.

* * *

Maybe we got too complacent. Maybe it was just dumb luck. Whatever it was, it was bad. After leaving the Branzdon system and reactivating our systems, we sped away from the system towards Federation space and Starbase 34. Then we hit a gravitic mine, a really big one, out in the middle of nowhere, 1 parsec away from Branzdon. But there it was, bringing the _'Quest_ to a stop. Alarms sounded throughout the bridge. Our warp drive was damaged, but it was still operational, a testament to the toughness of the ship. But the entire Sidon fleet knew where we were. And they peeled out of their formations to come after us.

We actually were still in fine shape. Even with the damage from the gravitic mine we were still capable of about warp 6, and that was still faster than the Sidon ships, unless they redlined their engines. The Dorcons had a speed advantage, and they all were behind us. The chase was on. Unfortunately the starbase was 29 parsecs away. That would bring the chase up to 16 days in length. The Dorcon could catch us in just over 3.

And he was chasing. Foolish. But the Dorcons never faced us in combat and none of the Sidons had seen us fire our aft torpedo tubes. They might assume our heavy firepower is forward like the majority of starships. _Like theirs_. Our omega strike was 80% as powerful as our alpha strike, powerful enough to smash through the shields of a modern heavy cruiser, like our own. And our shields were more than double theirs.

* * *

There was an 'interesting' signal on our scanners, five days after dealing with the Dorcon. We were closing on a starship, it seemed. As we closed we detected the ship on our scanners – a _Ranger_ class scout. It was just sitting there, almost exactly half way between Starbase 34 and Branzdon. _That's a strange place to put a starship_, I thought. If the Sidons were still following us we had at least 12 hours before they would get here. So we dropped out of warp and scanned the ship. It's impulse engines were up but the warp drive was down. There were no life signs onboard, but the life support system was functioning properly. We beamed over, John, Sara, and myself.

Lighting levels on board were minimal; the ships life support was in a night-shift mode. We headed to the bridge. The bridge was no larger than the _'Sister's_ used to be. The computers were locked down. Time to try a Section-31 code. That was just like saying "open sesame". I checked the running processes and orders for the ship.

"I found out why she's here, and 33 of her sisters. They're the Federations' answer to the Sidon minefield."

"I assume the Federation doesn't use mines?" Sara asked.

"They do in wartime. But they are vigilant in taking them down afterwards," John answered.

I sat down at the communications console. "Lets fire this thing up, patch in the other ships into this array, and make some long distance calls." I was busy programming and sending out prefix codes. Soon I had a 34-ship subspace array. I sent out a message to New Psychonia, and found that the Transport tug was available, and had it sent to Starbase 34 at top speed. Even at warp 12 it would take 36 days to go there. Nobody was returning my calls from Caractacalla, but Admiral Halfview sent regards and congratulations upon reading my executive summary of events. Apparently in my absence the rest of our advance fleet withdrew to Thule, joined up with four more cruisers and the _Confederate Union_ and proceeded to turn the Tholians into scrap, when they played their trump card. The Avens had took a gamble and sent 10 of the 12 _Akazi's_ they had built and sent them to Thule!

BEEP. Sara checked the scanners. "The sensors are picking up a fleet of Sidon ships, half a parsec out."

"Time to go," I stated while shutting down the comm. boards. I returned the fleet to its automatic mode, and we beamed back to the _'Quest_.

* * *

7 days later we arrived at Starbase 34. This is where we said goodbye to most of the Alphans. From here they were in the Federation, and could get passage back to Earth, or just about anywhere. Most of them were "adventured out", while some found relatives from the 27th century. Maya, wanted to go to New Psychonia, and Tony was going wherever Maya was. The only other Alphan who decided to go to the rim, was Allan Carter. I just hoped that it wasn't the fact that we rescued those three from their crippled eagle. A month passed by and we were setting up the connections between the _'Quest_ and the transport. Our return trip at warp 8 took over two months.


	14. Tyrannis

**14: TYRANNIS**

When we arrived in the Caractacalla system I entered another shit storm of controversy. This time it was different. The Council had decided, in my absence, to remove the office of Sky Marshal from Bu-ships. Basically the Baron's minions had won. My prolonged absence from council didn't help the situation, and the baron's minions exploited that absence ruthlessly. They took the easy way out. When I arrived I had found out by the gloating director of Bu-ships. I had 24 hours to clear out my office and vacate the city. It was a case of _"on your bicycle, spaceman_" all over again. I had at least learned that I was Sky Marshal for another 24 hours. So the last act as Sky Marshal I did was cut 6-month leave orders for all of my _'Quest's_ bridge crew, so we had the freedom to decide our own fate while the _Faraway Quest_ underwent repairs.

So what to do in the meantime? Apparently my presence was requested on the planet Aventus. The Avens were planning another anniversary to the day the Berserkers were defeated, and since the Commodore was not doing anything this year, he was invited to the ceremonies. The question was how to get there. The _'Quest_ needed many months of dry dock time for her repairs and refit, while the _'Sister_ was now ashes in Sidon space. I decided to travel the old fashioned way. I asked my 'bridge crew' if they were in a hurry, and the overwhelming response was "no". So we chartered a freighter that was going to Aventus from Charactacalla. It was the epitomic freighter class – Monarch. It was about as ubiquitous as any tramp freighter. We didn't care, as we were going on a normal and well traveled trade route, or so we thought. The route now was about as stock as any trade route in the Confederacy. We rendezvoused with the _Far Ranger_ in a S-4 shuttlecraft, parking it in the freighter's shuttle bay for the trip. The S-4 was a little slow and cramped for the journey on it's own. We were in some of the few guest quarters just aft of the ships small sick bay

* * *

It was much to our surprise that the ship encountered a signal coming from a planet just past the Medusa Nebula. It was a signal out of history, and only by luck did we detect it. Our captain, Lewis, always had a scanner out for possible salvage claims. In this case, he 'struck it rich' so to speak. We diverted to a system just past the Medusa nebula, one that wasn't even in the catalogue. It was only by chance that the signal was discovered, as Lewis had his proprietary routes that went past different planets than most other ships.

It wasn't long before we were in orbit around a planet. Unfortunately for anyone who would colonize this otherwise ideal planet, the parent star emitted Berthold Rays. This somewhat obscure form of radiation occurred on a rare basis, but rendered an otherwise ideal planet uninhabitable. Any humanoid life would last less than 6 months on such a planet. In more intense radiation fields Berthold Rays could kill in a week. The ship found was a _Marshall _class destroyer, last used during the Romulan War. The scans indicated that there was no life on board the ship, and there was, as expected, no life on the planet.

But that was not all! While we were in the system, there was another contact. An hour later we were flying in formation with an older Earth ship that held a conundrum. I was called up to the bridge. The ship was a real blast from the past. We had found a _Conestoga_ class troop transport from the pre-warp days. After scanning the hull, we found the name. The ship was the _Sulaco_. But there was a catch. Another ship was docked to the underside of the _Sulaco_. The ship design was in the database: it was an Elerium ship of _Beta_ class. The Eleria hadn't used that ship type for about 3 centuries.

"So what do you think of this odd couple?" Lewis asked.

"I'd guess that the Eleria found the _Sulaco_ and took it for a merry drag. Then something happened to them. The big question is what?"

"We have some indeterminate life signs on the _Sulaco_. They also have some power from nuclear batteries. I am sending some men on board."

As a passenger, that wasn't me, or any of my crew. What surprised me was that the _Far Ranger_ had hard docked with the _Sulaco_, on her upper docks

A few hours later I was in my quarters just counting time. Then the intercom beeped. "Commodore Michael..."

"Here," I replied.

"Do you have a physician with you?"

"Yes. Doctor Toki is here," I replied.

"Good. We found some survivors from the Sulaco, and our sickbay has just an auto-doc," Lewis stated.

"We are going to your sick bay. Just beam over the survivors and we'll take care of them," was my response.

* * *

Sure enough three humans in cryo-suspension were beamed to the sickbay, two were adults, one male and one female, as well as a female child. All three suffered from long duration cryo-sleep, but all three were effectively alive. We also had a surprise. One of the three, the adult female had an extra life form inside her. That had to be removed before revival, at least as far as I was concerned. But that was Toki's job, which he executed with his usual efficiency. We now had 4 life forms, three humans and one entity in the quarantine container. I decided to start a gene sequence on the unknown entity. Toki was busy trying to revive the three humans after such a long hyper sleep, even though they all had insulactin treatments. If anyone would be privy to their original mission and its fate, it would be the actual participants.

* * *

I hate waiting, I really do. But in this case it was all that I could do. Toki was looking after our human patients, and I was waiting for the gene sequencing from the new life form we encountered. The computer would tell me exactly how much time was remaining, 47 minutes in this case. Toki had set up a revival regimen, and also in about 45 minutes, our human patients would be revived. So I waited ... and waited ...

It was like watching grass grow. Then came the beep. The computer had beaten Toki with the gene sequence vs. his patient revival. Toki wasn't taking any chances. What the computer said had dire consequences ... for all of us.

:Gene sequencing complete:

:Race – Tyranid:

:Subtype – Genestealer hybrid:

_We are so screwed_, I thought. I pulled out my communicator. "Sara," I commanded.

"Sara here," was the response.

"Get everybody to sickbay NOW!" I ordered. "And bring my toys."

"Which ones?" Sara asked.

"All of them," I replied.

At least Sara would clue in that we were in deep shit. Within five minutes everybody was crowded into the sickbay. Sara entered last, carrying a duffel bag full of, well, mostly weapons. The adult female was the first to come to. Toki helped her up.

"Who are you? Where am I?" Were the first two questions she asked.

"I am Toki, a doctor in the Rim Worlds Navy," Toki responded. Being a cat-person didn't seem to faze the woman, as long as she could understand him. "You are onboard the freighter _Far Ranger._ You are?"

"Ellen Ripley," the woman stated. "I was a civilian advisor on a certain alien species..."

"Tyranids?" I asked.

"I don't know what those are but we were dealing with an aggressive and xenomorphic race of creatures..."

"Tyranids," I concluded.

"You know what the creatures that we are dealing with are?" She asked.

"In part. You were infested with a two-armed variant of a tyranid genestealer. They are biologically engineered soldiers for the Tyranid race. Consider them shock troops. They exist only in Section-31's files." I finished.

"And here, apparently," Ellen replied.

At that point in time the adolescent girl had awoken from her hyper-sleep, and she appeared about to scream when she saw Sara. "Am I dead?" She asked.

"No, you re not dead, but you suffered a long hyper sleep. I am an angel, but for you I am a guardian angel, here to help. My name is Sara." Sara replied.

"How are you here?" The girl asked.

"That is a long story. Lets just say that Stephen Michael needed an angel to help in his rescues, and that has brought me here. I help him and he helps people like you." That calmed the girl. By this time the third human was awake, and his name was Corporal Dwayne Hicks, of the colonial marines.

"The colonial forces were disbanded about 500 years ago." I informed. "The Federation of Planets and Starfleet had replaced them. We are rim worlders and have happened to discover your ship. Do you know why the Elerium would be docked to your ship?"

"The who?"

"The Elerium, a bipedal race of insect people. One of their ships, an old _Beta_ class explorer is docked to your underside dock. What happened to them is still a mystery."

"Perhaps the Aliens took them out." Ellen responded. "If they encountered an egg dropped off by the queen..."

"An egg?"

"The queen lays eggs that produces face hugging entities that implant you with the alien creature," Ellen replied.

"Probably typical of Tyranid reproduction cycles," I answered. "Unfortunately we are only passengers on this ship. We need to speak to the captain..."

I tried to contact the bridge, to no avail. I left the channel open.

* * *

did I mention that I hate waiting? I really do. But in this case it was all that I could do. With no contact from the bridge, we had to wait until someone 'in charge' would respond to our requests. We were only passengers on this ship, and thus had no access, unless I planned on using some Section-31 knowledge, which I didn't entirely rule out. Eventually we received a reply, but not from the bridge.

"Hello. Is anybody there?" Came the question

"Sickbay here – Doctor Toki at your service."

"You're one of the passengers aren't you? We need help!"

"Who needs help?" I asked.

"Were the engineering crew. We have locked ourselves into the engine room. There are alien entities taking over the ship! They have killed all of our bridge crew and Captain Lewis. I don't think anybody else is alive!"

"All of us passengers are here in sickbay," I replied. "We have a good collection of arms, and could come to you..."

"Do you think you can make it with those things crawling around?"

"Yes. I do have a couple of secret weapons with me." I looked at Nergat. Although Sara would welcome the combat, I wasn't about to risk her unnecessarily. "So stand by and expect us when we arrive in engineering."

Time to get out the toys. First off was the phaser – 3 packs, and the phaser extentions. They were another reason to have the Marphak "Sting" model of phasers. Marphak had built a carbine styled booster to their phaser – 2. Coupled with an extended barrel phaser – 1. The Marphak became an easily handled shipboard phaser carbine, extending the firepower of the pistols. I did still have two fully loaded Mark 30-A assault phaser rifles with grenade launchers. Sara picked one up as her weapon of choice. John took the other. I stuck with my dual pistols, letting Maya, Tony, Alan and Brent put together phaser – 3 carbines. K'tee, Toki and Marie had only pistols, like myself. Nergat had his own built-in weaponry. His acid was actually more powerful than Tyranid blood.

Time to talk to engineering again. "Engineering," I called on the intercom.

"Engineering, Mike here."

"Hi Mike. What security do you have on this ship?"

"We have all the blast doors down between the compartments. That and the integrity field is all we've got," Mike answered.

"How about transporters?"

"You would have to be _in_ the transporter room, and that area is infested."

I had a plan. "Tell you what…"

* * *

The first compartment went without a hitch. But then it was empty. The sequence was Sara on point with myself as scanner-man. John had rearguard with the other Mark 30. Ellen, Dwayne, Parna and Rebecca were in the 'easy chair' at the center. First scan the next compartment, then have engineering crack the doors and drop the forcefield, lob a grenade with a delay set, slam the doors shut wait for the boom, open the doors and move up to the next compartment.

This we did for the first 4 compartments. Then life became complicated. The next compartment was one of the cargo holds, and it was infested. It wasn't empty either, and there was no guarantee that a grenade would get them all with the cargo in the way. But that's what the disintegrate setting is for. And Nergat. It's time for our secret weapon. We informed engineering that we needed total control of the blast doors, and we got it. Crack the door. Let Sara lob the grenade. Wait for the boom. Open the door and send in Nergat, with covering fire if necessary. Close the doors. Wait for Nergat to crush the opposition, literally.

So here we sat, covering the rear, just in case, while we waited for Nergat. Fifteen minutes later my communicator beeps. "Tell me the coast is clear," I implored.

"You bet. Those creatures didn't know what to do with a living rock, so they all got crushed underfoot! The light is green, the trap is clean!" Nergat exclaimed. _Nergat has been watching way too many of my movies_.

"Good," I replied as I opened the doors and entered the cargo bay. "Just one more compartment and then we're in engineering."

Twenty minutes later all the survivors of the Far Ranger, the Sulaco and the passengers were all in the engineering compartment. There were 5 engineers who were the last survivors of the Far Ranger crew, and there were the 14 of us, for a total of 19 people.

The Monarch class freighter held a couple of advantages for us. For one just under the engineering compartment was the shuttle bay. We had access to our shuttle, which was still parked in the middle of the bay. The other is that it was still docked to the Sulaco. The simple way to take out the alien creatures would be to blow up all three ships, and the best way to do that was to detonate the _Far Ranger's_ antimatter pods. By now that was something that I was used to, on a semi-regular basis it seemed.

So that is what we did. Another 20 minutes later we were all boarding the shuttles and leaving the Far Ranger to it's fate. 30 minutes later the trio of ships would be plasma, and we would be boarding the Marshall class destroyer still in orbit around the planet.

* * *

Something had gone wrong, I was sure. The explosion, while on time, was out of place. Unfortunately we were too busy boarding the _Marshall class_ destroyer to pay particular attention to one explosion. Talk about putting all your eggs in one basket. But it still beat returning to the Rimworlds in shuttlecraft.

The engineers were put to work on determining the status of the _Marshall class_ destroyer. I was on the bridge trying to determine why the ship is here in the first place.

* * *

We had found out the fate of the original crew. They had chased a Romulan ship of their era out this far and had shot it down around the planet of this system. Unfortunately for them they had run out of enough fuel to get back to Federation space, and since they apparently didn't know of the Berthold rays they decided to settle on this deadly planet. The crew was killed within two years after trying to settle the planet, by the radiation. Their ship was left in orbit as a silent epitaph to their odyssey.

Now we needed to activate its systems, and bring online the ship's warp drive. The large S-4 shuttle of mine had a full stock of antimatter that could be used for that purpose. The fusion missiles and the lasers of the ship were in working order, so it only took a few days to bring the ship on line. Since we didn't have to travel all the way back to federation space the warp 3.8 that this ship was capable of was adequate to limp back to the nearest Rimworlds port.

We were heading out of the system when our scanners picked up the freighter. It was powering up its engines. That meant that the Tyranids could run the computers.

There was the medusa nebula within a parsec of the system we had just left. The alien controlled freighter followed us into it. It would be an interesting fight, between a generation 4 freighter with a pair of defensive phasers versus a generation 2 destroyer with a full armament of missiles and lasers. By entering the nebulae we were guaranteeing a fight at impulse speeds, and without shields. That actually put us at the firepower advantage, which we really needed. Even defensive phasers were powerful weapons, actually out-ranging ours, and Tyranids would give no quarter.

* * *

The Medusa Mebula wasn't a very dense nebula, but is was sufficient to prevent the raising of shields and kept speed down in the low impulse range. Like any nebula, there were denser knots of materials to 'hide' in, and actual encounters were sporadic at best. In the first 10 hours the two ships encountered each other twice, and stayed in contact on the second encounter long enough to trade shots. That's when we found out exactly how badly we were out-ranged – almost a factor of 2! Even after they got the drop on us no serious damage was caused.

We needed to keep into the thickest parts of the nebula, and only dart out into regions where scanners would detect to the limit of our guns. There were only two other encounters in the first day, again, both indecisive. The Tyranids clued into our tactics and on the second encounter they immediately turned away into the mists of the nebula when the range was too close.

The only encounters that we would have were going to be on our terms. We could hide in here indefinitely, as this was a huge old planetary nebula. Unfortunately the tyranids were relentless. And they appeared to have infinite patience.

* * *

We were running 6-on 6-off shifts in 2 rotations as we were understaffed. Standing orders were that everyone off was to grab a meal and get some shuteye. There were two exceptions: Nergat, who didn't sleep anyways, and Sara, who could function for at least a week without any real impairment. Her endurance was being put to the test! So, I was sleeping alone as those two took continuous watch at helm and navigation. I was on bridge watch with K'Tee when we exited the nebula unexpectedly.

When we left the nebula there was a starship on the main scanner. And it wasn't the freighter. "K'Tee..."

"Hailing frequencies are open," K'Tee replied.

Soon there was a familiar face on the view screen. This time he was in a Rim Worlds Navy uniform.

"Commander Treva! Long time no see!" I greeted.

"What the! Every time we meet you are dragging a new ship around! But what's up with the museum piece?" Treva asked.

"That's a long story. Probably as long as the one that puts you into that uniform."

"And that's why I'm here, to find you actually. We're at war!"

"War?"

"It's Baron van Toerbach and Tallimatrix, again. They took out the fleet at Calamain, and attacked Caratacalla. You're the ranking commander of the entire Confederation, I'm afraid."

"Oh, Joy." _That is not going to end well_...

* * *

We evacuated the destroyer, and I took command of my new flagship, the strike cruiser _R. C. S. Chandler_, and was briefed on current events that I missed. We had one little task to perform, the hunting down and destruction of the freighter. That was easy as we had bait. Towing the _Marshall_ class destroyer just outside of the nebula at low warp brought the freighter into the open where it didn't stand a chance. The _Chandler_ has _eight_ torpedo tubes, four forward and four aft. One salvo and the _Far Ranger_ was reduced to ashes. Now it was on to our larger task.


	15. War! I

**15: WAR! (pt 1)**

The _Chandler_ class strike cruiser (rimworlds edition) had a flag bridge installed. So I took up residence there when we would be in fleet actions. I decided that I needed Sara, and K'Tee on the flag bridge while John, Nergat and Maya would be on the main bridge, running the ship. The flag bridge had a massive holographic tank for running fleet operations as well as a large comm. center, which K'Tee would be in charge of.

It would be needed, as I was briefed on recent activities. Everything that BuShips fought me on made sense now, as I was brought up to speed on recent events. The new cruisers that were built in the UFP disappeared and found their way into Baron Von Toerbach's fleet. With those, he attacked Calamain, destroying most of the ships there. Grand Admiral Halfview was killed in the conflict, which saw the destruction of most of the fleet there, as well as the shipyards. The planets of Tallamatrix, Bindar, Goggic, Mairsus, and Trebborhorn lead the rebellion, while a second front, this time with the Imperial Klingon States who invaded Regalia, means that war rages across the Confederacy. In fact, the IKS invasion of Regalia was the trigger of the rebellion.

That meant that we had a war on two fronts. It was time we made a few calls and brought in some help. As expected, the Avens stepped up to the plate with two squadrons of perimeter action ships. We would need to stage them through a resupply stop to make best use of them so the _Fantom & Fury_, my transport ship, would be set up as a tactical base near Thule. It would stage the P.A. ships to their destination systems so that our other cruisers would be available for fleet operations. We had the refitted _Baton Rouge_ class, as well as the newly constructed _Chandler_ class, while Toerbach had the ten _Decatur_ class cruisers at his disposal, and apparently a pirate fleet operating from his secret base, which I was pretty sure of the location. The _Confederate Union_ was elsewhere, and is currently unaccounted for.

My first priority was the continuation of the Rimworlds government and its Navy, then the defeat of the IKS, and Toerbach's forces, in that order. The planets Yakutz, Bossilwick, Wa-Lu, the Trevors, and Kepto-Quitalan were definitely on Caractacalla's side with Van'aar, the Faraway Project, and Thule. Of course New Psychonia and the shipyards at New Moria were 'in' as well. The rest of the rim worlds were sitting this one out, waiting to see where the chips fell.

It was time to head to Lorne, and meet up with the _Fury_.

* * *

When we reached Lorne we were in for a surprise. The _Fury_ had deployed the _Fantom_, and set up a resupply station, as the Aven ships would be sent out with minimal supplies and crews as they had overextended themselves to quickly build up a defense fleet. The _Seeker_ and _Searcher_ were headed to Aventus to take up patrol there for the duration. The surprise was the arrival of the _Confederate Union_ and her commander, Grand Admiral Halfview, who was still alive and well, despite the news to the contrary. At this point that was a secret, and the official news was that the surviving naval forces were under the command of one Commodore Michael. _Great, thanks_, I thought. _Just stick a bulls-eye right here on my forehead_! But unseen was my new escort ship The _Phantom_, our Romulan built cruiser. Not to be confused with the _Fantom_, which is a cargo pod that is towed around by the _Fury_. It basically transforms into a heavily armed warship after detaching from the _Fury_ or her standard cargo pod. So far no pirate had tasted her wrath, but then again the _Fury_ has a heavy destroyer's armament and there are easier pickings elsewhere. Pirates aren't usually that dumb, at least the successful ones. However at least three pirate clans had joined Von Toerbach's side and they had some good quality Orion equipment.

Halfview had escaped with the _Confederate Union_ when the Baron's forces attacked. He was lucky, being onboard during an engineering cruise to Caractacalla, and had missed the destruction of Calamain. He spent the last few weeks poking around looking for the Baron's hidden base, but not finding it. He did check out one of my choices, the system of Dessil. That left only one possible location: Velpare. It was time to head to Wa-Lu and gather a fleet.

* * *

I was still taking up the center seat on the main bridge, while Maya seemed to be getting frustrated with her new scanners. "Maya, what seems to be the problem?"

"I'm getting a sporadic echo on the rear scanners. I've run _two_ diagnostics on them and they keep coming up nominal," Maya complained.

I went to her station, at the same time John left tactical to come over. "Let's see that scan..." Sure enough a sporadic echo appeared on the rear scanners. It was actually fairly close to the ship. "Your echo is real," I finally concluded.

"Then what is it?"

"A cloaked ship," John interjected.

"Got it in one. It's an older-style cloaking device, typical of what a pirate, or the IKS would have available. The only way to tell which would be to board and capture. Or at least get a really good look at her," I mused.

Brent chimed in, "I'll put a team together."

"All right, on your way."

* * *

Half an hour later we were in control of an IKS scout ship. And we were letting it go. It turns out that we weren't at war with the IKS after all. The reason this scout was here was to hunt down a rebel faction who escaped the IKS, just like the Imperial Klingon States were formed by an escaping faction from the Klingon Empire. They were trying to shadow us to see if they could eavesdrop on our subspace traffic, to see if any Confederate shipping has encountered them. Since we were at war all our transmissions went out encoded, but the Klingons didn't know that. I told them that we had found their quarry and were gathering a fleet to drive them out of the Velpare system. That's when the Klingons objected, claiming that they had the right of revenge. With that we released them.

"But the Klingons aren't in Velpare, they are in Regalia," Sara accused when we were back on our bridge.

"The Klingons don't know that. They should be sending a fleet into the Velpare system so we now don't have to. We can go after Von Toerbach's cruisers. Since we pulled the data from the Klingons own computers we know the force in Regalia is on it's own, and the fleet forming at Wa-Lu is going over there to take them out. I'm sending the _Phantom_ as a lone scout to Velpare to see what the Klingons do."

"You scoundrel!" Sara wasn't really serious, but she as an angel, was rather incapable of lying.

_Remind me not to send you out on any diplomatic negotiations_, I thought at her. Sara just snickered at that.

* * *

The _Phantom_ had further orders too. It was to follow through the system, allow the Klingon scout to get some scans of the ships there, then to attack it. If the Klingon runs, the _Phantom_ was to chase but let it get away. And if they were stupid enough to go toe to toe with a Romulan cruiser, we will have to chalk it up to natural selection. It turned out that they weren't. They cut and ran, sending out an open message back to the IKS. The renegades are receiving Romulan help.

Meanwhile we were moppng up the sorry little Klingon force in the Brothers system. The planet Regalia, was rich in radioactives, but its almost inhospitable climate was home to under a million people, spread out in villages with little to no defenses. We rolled in with 5 heavy cruisers and 2 strike cruisers, up against a flotilla of troop transports, escorted by a trio of D-7 cruisers and a pair of L-5 destroyers. The IKS fleet would be all generation 4 ships. It turned out that we faced a pair of D-7A's led by a D-7D. Their total firepower was barely a match for 1 Chandler, and we had two. But we split with the _Asimov_ and sent her in after the transports. We were leaving the D-7's to be chewed up by the now vastly superior _Baton Rouges_. We were going after the destroyers. Their strategy was simple, get me to chase one while the other slips in behind. They were in for a surprise. We opened fire on the rear destroyer _first_, responding to their main disrupters with a pair of torpedoes each. The first pair removed her shields and the second pair removed the front half of their ship. The fore destroyer fared worse, as after the topedoes hit the phaser barrage removed the second half of that ship. The second round of combat was a mercy killing.

The D-7's faired about the same but the _Tampa_ ended up with a few craters in her since they ganged up on her. She will need a little drydock time. Two of the transports did the wisest thing that they could: Land on the planet. The rest ended up as torpedo targets. Most of the Klingon troops were down on the planet anyways.

"What to do, what to do..." I pondered.

"We could leave those Klingons to their own devices," John suggested. "After disabling those troop transports and stranding them planetside."

"But that leaves the Klingons rampaging against the locals," Sara complained.

"But they haven't dealt with the mind-sci churchers!" John answered.

"The who?" I asked.

"Lets just say the locals can take care of their own as long as the Klingons don't have any assault shuttles," John concluded.

"Well that's easy enough to do. Sara, lock phasers onto those troop transports, and on your own time ... fire!" I ordered.

Sara fired the ships phasers, burning down the troop transports on the planet. There were no shuttles for the Klingons to use, so they were stranded in about half a dozen enclaves. They would keep until later, so we moved on to more important things, such as hunting down the Baron's fleet.

Unfortunately, both his main attack fleet and his pirate allies were not waiting around. A small force had tried to invade Caractacalla, but was beaten back by the _Confederate Union,_ the _Sayer_ and the _Pournelle,_ both hot off the shipyards of Wa-Lu.

* * *

The main thrust of either fleet hasn't occurred yet. It would be a matter of time before Toerbach's first main target revealed itself. But I had an idea, since we knew that Velpare was his 'hidden' base. The nearest confederate shipyards to Velpare was, unfortunately, The New Moria shipyards. That made it a prime target – knock out the New Moria shipyards, and then move on Wa-Lu and the only shipyards left to the Confederacy would be those of Aventus, over 30 parsecs from the main Confederacy. The shipyards at New Moria were a scant 13 parsecs from Velpare.

Time to rearrange the fleet of _Akazi's_, and send them out in flights of 6 instead of pairs. _Just how many did the Avens build_? They were still pouring in to Lorne. One flight to Caractacalla, to add to the home fleet and defense of the capital. One flight to New Moria, as I expected a major attack there. The PDF had also been upgraded, as Commander Treva's last command was an _Akazi_ class ship built at New Moria. They even picked the same sub-class as those of the Avens, for the sake of compatibility. One flight to We-Lu and another that will stay at Lorne. That covers all of our remaining shipyards, as I doubt that the Baron will go after Aventus. If he does he will find out about the other gift we gave the Avens, plans on how to arm the shipyards and build defensive mines! But 28 ships had been assigned their patrols, and still more were coming in from Aventus. It was then that I learned that a squadron, to the Avens consisted of 20 ships each, instead of two flights of 6 for a cool dozen. That meant that over 3 squadrons (by my reckoning) were inbound. The last 4 to arrive were sent to join the other 2 at Bossilwick. That way an entire flight was at the Bellicose system, and one of the Baron's planets, Trebborhorn, was blockaded!

* * *

So far 2 of my three objectives were met. Caractacalla was protected, by a flight of _Akazi's_ and the remains of the home fleet. The Klingons were neutralized, with the bonus of the IKS possibly moving on Velpare. That left Baron Rolf's fleet, and where it would strike next. My gut said New Moria, so we took the _Chandler_ there, as well as the _Fantom_, _Phantom_, and _Fury_, after all of the Aven ships were refurbished. Then it was a matter of waiting, and while we waited, Sara, K'tee, Nergat, Toki, and Parna headed with me down to my cabin on New Psychonia. If we were waiting at home, we might as well enjoy it! The twin planets were close enough that you could beam directly to our ship at New Moria from New Psychonia.

* * *

Two weeks later, and I was proved right. The Baron decided to strike the New Moria shipyards, and to try to take them out. He wasn't pulling any stops on this one. All ten of his _Decatur_ class cruisers were here, as well as a pirate fleet. This would be one of the major battles of this war. Baron Rolf von Toerbach had committed most of his fleet to this assault, and I had committed most of our spare capacity to the defense of New Moria. Thus I had 9 _Akazi's_, two _Chandlers_, and 4 _Baton Rouges_ against his 10 _Decaturs_. The question is weather the PDF patrol ships could handle the pirate fleet that was also inbound.

I was still on New Psychonia when the call came in. It took 5 minutes for my bridge crew to arrive and settle in. Then we moved out to intercept the baron's fleet. I ordered Johns team to the secondary bridge, as I was pretty sure that our main bridge had a great big bulls-eye on it. The six cruisers paired with a PA ship and broke off to engage an opposing cruiser. The three remaining _Akazi's_ each sought out a cruiser with the _Fury_, _Fantom_ and _Phantom_ while the PDF fleet went after the pirates. The last cruiser would have to be dealt with later if it didn't stop to engage our forces. It went after the _Chandler_, my flagship, basically gunning for the last commander to the Rimworlds navy. At least that was the plan

We veered in on our first target, the cruiser _Thames_, and started our attack. Both ships concentrated on it beating down its shields and then our torpedoes started to hit home. We decide to ignore the other cruiser, the _Avon_, while we beat on the _Thames_. That might have been a mistake. While we took out the _Thames_, the _Avon_ planted a full spread of torpedoes into our backside. We were a hurting unit even though our rear torpedo launchers dealt a devastating blow to the _Avon_. These were all gen-5 ships, so they gave as good as they got.

Then that bulls-eye got its revenge. The _Chandler_ was known as the flagship of the Loyalist fleet, and that got the attention of all the enemy ships. All of the cruisers were gunning for us. That made it easy on the defensive side, but everyone lambasted us. Fifteen minutes later the _Chandler_ was a wreck, but the fleet had managed to disable or destroy 6 of the _Decaturs_, and the PDF held up against the pirate fleet so that the retreating forces were only 4 heavily damaged cruisers and under half of the pirates managed to escape. 5 of the _Akazis_ had to break off and engage pirates to accomplish that task. We were not in the shape to chase them however. The worst ship on our side was the _Chandler_, but the _New Orleans_ was just as bad off. Captain Becker had pressed to the defense of the _Chandler_, and both ships were smoldering wrecks. The _Asimov_ was almost as badly damaged as we were, as well as the previously damaged _Tampa_ and _Houston _both suffered heavy damage. The _Fantom_ had a few good-sized holes in her starboard side, and the _Fury_ seemed to come out as top dog. Nobody took the transport too seriously, and her shields stopped the few shots sent her way. All 5 cruisers were essentially out of action. The PDF fleet was decimated taking out the pirates, so the only remaining ships that were ready were the _Akazi'_s, ignored by the opposing fleet until they pounded them. The _Akazi_ had a light cruiser's armament on an escort sized ship, and they were pure fighting ships. Everyone out here seemed to ignore them until they struck, and then it was too late. My second ace-in-the-hole was the _Phantom_. Twice she saved our butts by de-cloaking behind an attacking cruiser and planting a spread of plasma torpedoes into their backside. She slipped away in the fog of war to spread havoc among both cruiser and pirate fleet alike.

The pirate fleet had grossly underestimated the response from the fleet, and paid the price of underestimating the effectiveness of the perimeter action ship. The survivors left the system and headed back to Velpare.

* * *

The _Chandler_ was toast. The flagship had served her role as target. The main bridge was gone with everything on decks 2 and 3. The warp core had been ejected after the engines took one to many hits. At least Brent, Ellen and Marie were OK. Others weren't so lucky. We were fine as the flag bridge and emergency bridge were both at the center of the ship, where the main computer was. We sent the _Chandler_, _New Orleans_, _Asimov_, _Tampa_ and _Houston_ into drydock at the (saved) shipyards of New Moria. All 5 ships were barely operational, and all 5 needed major rebuilding. Two of the Barons _Decaturs_, the _Avon_ and the _Mersey_, lay drifting, and were boarded. The surviving crews were given medical treatment and then sent to the brig set up in a cargo pod docked to the shipyards. Their final destination might be Placæum, the prison planet. The _Akazi's_ were simply destroying any pirate hulls stranded in the system. Both ships were taken in as prizes and sent to the yards for repairs. Of the dozen slips capable of working on capital ships, all were busy. 4 almost completed _Chandlers_ as well as the refitting _'Quest_ were here. The _'Quest_ looked really strange, with one gen-6 warp nacelle. It was used as the test-bed for the new warp cores the _Chandlers_ have. When the refit is done the _'Quest_ will have a top end of warp 11.5.

I moved my flag to the _Memphis_, the only cruiser to come out relatively unscathed. My bridge crew moved into their auxiliary control as the flag entourage. Captain Brown's crew was still intact. Commander Treva was given a field promotion to Captain and was given command of the _Shuriken_, one of the _Akazi's._ Three of them were actually part of the PDF, as well as 2 surviving patrol craft of the "dirty dozen" – the original PDF fleet. Another 6 _Akazis_ were on the mid-size slips and would soon follow the other _Chandlers_ into service. We would go into watch-on-watch until either some new tonnage came online or a relief fleet arrived.

* * *

What did they say about war, _six months of sheer boredom followed by six minutes of sheer terror_. We had our moments of terror earlier, and it seemed to be our turn for the sheer boredom. Although our depleted fleet was standing watch at New Moria, absolutely nothing was happening. Watching the shipyards was akin to watching grass grow, and we bloodied Rolf von Toerbach's nose pretty badly.

We were in the VIP quarters aboard the _Memphis_ with Sara giving me a much-needed backrub when the call came in. An angelic masseuse puts the daily stress of patrol to rest! A crew can only stand on alert for so long before fatigue sets in. But somebody had entered the system, so it was to the flag bridge for both of us. It was the good guys. The _Confederate Union_, with escorts the _Sayer_ and the _Pournelle_ were inbound to relieve our weary fleet. Apparently the "Battle of New Moria" was all the news, and the Barons fleet was left without the ability to strike anywhere else. The roving patrol ships were headed here to create a retaliatory fleet, and go after the Baron's shipyards in Velpare.

* * *

By the time a retaliation fleet was assembled, it was no longer needed. We received a transmission from the _Phantom_, which was sent back to Velpare to spy on that system. The IKS were finally rolling in with a fleet to attack the system. The play-by-play would definitely be interesting!

The IKS fleet was an overwhelming fleet for the original renegades. Two flights of D-7's, and a flight of D-10's, a powerful heavy cruiser, and the best their fleet had to offer. Three flights of D-18's (a modern destroyer) and a squadron of F-4 frigates as escort ships rounded their fleet. What they were up against was not what they were expecting. Instead of facing 5 combat ships, they found themselves under attack by two pirate clans, and the remains of a third. Much of the pirate fleet was escort-sized ships, but there were a _lot_ of them. Apparently only one clan was in on the raid on New Moria. It didn't help the pirates that they had ships from both Klingon and Romulan shipyards as well as Orion and the Rimworlds. That just seemed to confirm the IKS's suspicions.

The defending ships were all pirate, mostly escort sized or smaller, the typical example being the _Wanderer_ and _Lightning_ class 'blockade runners' as well as a few Orion fleet units, mostly _Patrol Cruisers_. The typical Romulan ship was the _P-12 Cutter_ and the _T-2 Vas-tagor Lattam_ light destroyer. The few Klingon ships included the _K-23 Escort_, the _F-4 Frigate_, and the _D-7D Deathtouch_, the flagship of the Death Talon Clan. This motley set of ships definitely confused the IKS fleet, but when they opened fire, there was no hesitation. The IKS felt that these other peoples were aiding the renegades and that made their determination that much greater!

The IKS fleet broke into flights that were designed to take out individual pirate ships. The pirates didn't realize this until it was too late. The _Deathtouch_ ran, and was pursued by the flight of _D-10's_. They were hunting down their expected quarry, even though their original target was destroyed in the Brothers system. It lasted just two salvoes from the _D-10's_. Then they broke up to pursue individual targets among the pirate vessels. That didn't mean that the IKS fleet didn't suffer casualties. They had 9 cruisers, 9 destroyers, and 12 frigates, while the pirate fleet consisted of over 100 frigate and escort sized ships. Since the clans were not unified, they broke up into individual units and the better organized IKS fleet was able to deal crippling blows at the beginning of combat.

As the battle raged on, the pirates ganged up the hunter-killer groups, as the only method of self-preservation besides running. Some did 'leak out' and were not seen again. Others found success in banding together, and wolf packs started to wear down the IKS fleet.

The battle raged on. The _D-10's_ attacked the shipyards on the moon of Velpare III. The outcome was not clear from the vantage point of the Phantom, but the _D-10's_ were never seen again. An hour after the battle commenced there were 4 IKS cruisers and 6 IKS destroyers left. Over 50 pirate vessels were gone, and at least two dozen fled. The last 30 or so didn't stand a chance, as they faced cruisers and destroyers with escorts and blockade runners. About half turned and fled, which meant destruction in detail for all of them. At the end 9 IKS ships were warping out to chase down pirates, and the system fell quiet. The _Phantom_ skulked away under its cloak, and eventually returned to New Moria.

With the pirate fleet out of the picture for now, Admiral Halfview wanted to take his fleet up against Tallamatrix. The thing that popped up in my memories was the 'Doolittle Raid of Tokyo' of 1942. The raid was successful, but all the planes were lost! Like the Doolittle raid there were 16 ships going on this mission. The _Confederate Union_ was the flagship while the cruisers _Sawyer,_ _Pournelle, Memphis, Austin, Phoenix, El Paso _and the _Piper_ were escorted by 8 perimeter action ships. Four of them were hot off the Wa-Lu slips as a private project of Halfview. He trusted Bu-ships even less than I did! Since that organization was controlled by the Baron's men (which by the way I had ordered put under arrest if they were still in the confederate region) the Grand Admiral found a loophole like I did and had some ships built. It seemed that he was fine letting me slug it out with the Baron's men while he quietly did his thing...

* * *

The fleet was moving on Tallamatrix. There was a known military installation there and a rather smallish shipyard. How small was anybody's guess. Since the cruisers weren't in Velpare they must have gone somewhere, and the Tallamatrix yards were the best guess. Since the Admiral took the _Memphis_ with him, I was left without a cruiser. I also had another task to do in the meantime. This one would require some specialized help – from my former employer.


	16. LV 426

**16: LV-426**

We had to take a break in the combat as the rebel fleet seemed to be depleted. With the ruse working and the IKS fleet taking out the Baron's pirates, we had a brief respite from the war. It was time to tackle an issue that arose from my recent crew additions. The tyranids had first been encountered on a planet designated LV-426, and later given the name of Acheron. Going through the historical record, it turned out that the planet was colonized twice, with the second colony being unauthorized. What happened to that colony was a mystery, one that needed solving, just in case. That meant a visit to a special being, one whom nobody knew about, except me and the other section 31 operatives. So it was a long slog to an unknown planet in the Federation, one that didn't officially exist either. Also what would the long slog be in exactly? I had recently gotten the _Chandler_ shot out from under me, and the _'Quest_ was still in drydock. That left few choices for a cruiser – all were taken. But I still had a few ships of my own, so I set my flag onboard the _Fury_, and took the _Fantom_ as my 'cargo pod'.

* * *

We were in orbit around a fairly desolate planet, with a barely breathable atmosphere. There was one lonely green spot which was chock full of life forms. I had called Dwayne and Ellen to the bridge. Ellen was still learning warp drive engineering, and Dwayne signed on as part of the ship's security detail, and was working with Tony.

"Maya, scan for a small octagonal building," I ordered.

"Found it. It's in the middle of all that greenery."

"Good. K'Tee, hail Victor. He'll be the only one down on that planet." As K'Tee was on the comm. board, I asked, "So who wants to meet the Tyranid?"

To my surprise Sara wanted to go. Ellen and Dwayne were definitely in, as was Maya. John had to stay, as I was the only one who knew the protocols, and everyone else gave it a pass. Allan beamed the five of us down to that building.

"Now what?" Ellen asked.

"We stay here and wait for Victor to arrive. Have a seat," I recommended as I pointed to the human style couches. "That funny looking chair is Victor's. He enters through that rather large airlock."

"How big is Victor?" Maya asked.

"A little over 3 meters."

The outer airlock opened and we heard a creature stepping in. Then the airlock cycled and we had our first look at an Imperial Tyranid. He scanned over our group stopping at Sara. "Interesting: Feathered wings on a humanoid. May I have a sample of your DNA?"

Sara looked at me. "It's your DNA and your choice," I answered her unasked question.

Sara finally replied, "Let me think about it."

"There's no hurry. It was just a thought," the Tyranid replied. "So what brings you to my little corner of the universe?"

"This," I replied as I put up a holographic display of the xenomorph we encountered.

Victor recognized the creature on the display. "Oh _those_. They are the first iteration of Genestealers. Way too independent to be useful to the hive. We thought we had got rid of them."

"Apparently not. What is the best way to deal with them?

"Orbital bombardment with antimatter weapons. Seriously, you are better off to write off the entire planet than to try and root them out."

Ellen had a different question. "Why are you telling us this?" Ellen was skeptical of the creature's motives, as she was the victim of these 'Tyranids' on more than one occasion.

Victor laughed, according to the translator. "Why am I even here you mean? I somehow in my experiments I grew independent from my hive. For this they tried to kill me. I wandered alone through the galaxy until I found a group who would allow me to coexist with them – the Federation. I was given this marginal planet so I could continue my experiments, and a subspace radio and this visitors building so people like you could drop in from time to time, and ask questions. The Federation is my home now and my former race are my enemies. Any time I get a chance to kick them in the teeth..."

I had a question. "Why call your self Victor?"

"I had to choose a name so I pulled one from your historical fiction. I am Victor Frankenstein!" So he (actually it) had a sense of humor. With some more small talk (Victor didn't get many visitors, so he liked to 'shoot the shit' and catch up on current events) we left him to his experiments. Sara did leave him with a sample of her DNA, as long as Victor didn't make any monsters from it. We did have to explain who she was and what "white mana" stood for. Victor is as good as his word, and promised only to make beautiful creatures from Sara's DNA. Besides monster making was one of the reasons he left the hive. Although many of his experimental life forms are dangerous, they aren't more dangerous as any other top food chain predator, it's just that you don't want to come down here and kill off is experiments when you don't have to. This little patch of green is the only life on the planet and it's all Victor's work. Besides, that's what the visitors building is for!

* * *

As the _Fantom-Fury_ broke orbit, we had a few calls to make. The first was to Section-31. We needed to rendezvous with an orbital bombardment ship. If we were going to take out a planet, with or without a colony on it, we would need some extra anti-matter firepower. The folks that could supply it on short notice would be my former employer. As I now was on 'OK' terms with them they responded to my buzzword: Genestealer. As soon as they heard that, they were all smiles and 'lets get rid of those at any cost' as Section-31 knew just what uncontrolled Tyranid creatures could do. And they were well past the 'lets use them for our bioweapons division'. The Federation had finally learned its lesson in that regard long ago. We were headed to Acheron, and would take 10 weeks at warp 8 to get there.

The 220-parsec trip was uneventful. We met up with two Federation orbital bombardment ships of the _Osiris_ class. They had the firepower that we lacked. But it was still premature to simply bomb the planet while we didn't know what happened to the second colony. Apparently the first colony was destroyed by the detonation of its fusion reactor. The second was 'lost' as many of the first and second expansion colonies were.

We were in orbit around LV-426. The planet would be called marginal by today's standards. Humans turned the atmosphere into one that was breathable, but the weather patterns were still too erratic. The only detectable city seemed to be devoid of life. Time to send down a drone. The only living being that I expected to survive was Nergat, so unless he wanted to go the only other option was a robot. Since Nergat didn't mind both he and a robot were sent down.

The city was eerily quiet. There was nobody about the streets, and none of the markets seemed to be open. The drone had lifted off to scout the city by air, and to survey the surrounding farms. Nergat started a search of the buildings, looking for signs of life. In one of the buildings he came across a large nest of eggs. The colony was wiped out long ago.

We commenced a full scan of the planet from orbit. There were two locations of interest, but we wanted to make sure that there were no 'lone structures' hidden away somewhere, which could harbor any genestealer eggs. After completing a sweep of the entire planet we beamed Nergat back up. The city and surrounding farms was the first, and the wreckage of a derelict spaceship was the second target. There were no others. We ordered the bombing of the city region while we took out the derelict with the _Fury's_ torpedoes.

Then it was a long quiet trip back to the Rimworlds. At least Ellen, Dwayne, and Rebecca could finally sleep at night. We hoped. Rebecca seemed to be responding well to her new reality. She would come and visit Sara on occasion.


	17. War II

**17: WAR! (pt 2)**

We arrived back at the shipyards at New Moria, more or less intact, and with our other mission accomplished. Ellen was finally happy that her nemesis was finally dealt with, and Rebecca could sleep soundly at night. We even knew what and who had created them, and as long as the Tyranids kept away from known space, they would never be a problem. According to Victor, if a hive did show up, the best way to deal with it would be with starships ranged weapons. It was the same solution to pirate ships, which we finally encountered just outside the Rimworlds territory. Whether these were part of the clans allied to Baron von Toerbach, or not, it didn't matter, as long as they were shooting at us. We were on a direct line course to New Moria, which only complicated matters. The five ships inbound were expecting to encounter a lone transport. We had a little surprise for them.

The first thing that happened is we jettisoned our pod. This allowed us to accelerate to an attack speed of warp 10, while arming our torpedoes. As we fired on the lead ship the pod was transforming into the _Fantom_. Part of the outer hull of the pod retracted into the ship while the warp nacelles were extended to their flight position. The final configuration still looked ungainly, but the large ship had an enormous amount of firepower. The _Fantom_ sported a total of eight torpedo tubes forward, as well as a cruisers phaser compliment. Two of the pirates immediately disappeared under the barrage of the _Fantom_, while the surviving two ships broke and ran. The second last didn't make it being gunned down by a total of ten cruise torpedoes; the latest weapon from the R&D folks on New Psychonia. The last probably left this region for good, at least if survival was on the agenda. Not only would we deal with the rebellion, it looked like we dealt a blow to the pirates that had plagued the Confederacy since the beginning.

We arrived at New Moria to a briefing on Admiral Halfview's abortive assault on Tallamatrix. Having sent in the _Phantom_ for a recon mission first, he decided to cut over and clean up Velpare instead. Although cloaked, the _Phantom_ was discovered, bit it managed to escape with its vital and rather disturbing 'intel' on the Baron's disposition.

The Baron's home fleet was far larger than anyone suspected, and there were at least another two pirate clans working with him. Although his lead cruisers, the four remaining _Decaturs_, were still in dry-dock undergoing repairs, he had large fleet of cruisers and destroyers. Apparently the Baron had infiltrated a large number of people on board some to the cruisers stationed at Calamain. An entire flight of _Loknars_, half of the fleet's and two thirds of the cruisers stationed at Calamain, immediately switched sides during the first attack, and were now at Tallamatrix. The home fleet had quite a few surprises as well. There were three flights of cruisers in it. One was a flight of _Suryas_, while another was a flight of _Mackenzies_, built in the AOFW. The third design was a custom-built light cruiser design, with obvious Orion characteristics. All of these ships were 4th generation, and there were two-dozen destroyers of various classes with the cruisers. 16 gen-5 ships wouldn't be able to take out thrice as many gen-4 ships. Half that would be an even fight, and the whole point is not to have an even fight. The fleet wisely aborted their attack on Tallamatrix, and decided to take out the system of Velpare permanently, at least for this war.

The fleet thundered across the warp wall of Velpare, and headed to the known location of the rebel base. What they found was a partially operational shipyards, heavily damaged by the Klingons. It was reduced to rubble along with the few ships that survived the IKS assault and were undergoing repairs. When the Admiral's fleet returned to New Moria, Velpare was scrubbed clean of any ability to field an effective combat fleet. That Left the Baron with a major shipyards in the Tallamatrix system, and a minor yards in the Iacus system.

* * *

This could get ugly in many different ways. The Baron could try a second attempt at New Moria, or he could move against the capital, in Sketola. Considering the damage done to his attack fleets, both were equally likely, which meant we had to keep a defensive presence in both systems capable of beating back his attack. I thought the next campaign would be all-in on the Baron's part, and that would mean Caractacalla. So I decided to put a 60 – 40 split with the 60% of my forces in the Sketola and only 40 at Phyche. Within a week a few extra cruisers would be ready at the New Moria shipyards, including the _Faraway Quest_.

We also had the Admiral's attack fleet, brought up to a strength of 20 cruisers and perimeter action ships, as well as a dozen escorts and frigates. His job was simple; jump Tallimatrix when the Baron's fleet hit Psyche or Sketola.

* * *

So much for the best laid plans of mice and me. It turned out that the Baron did go all-in on his attack, but chose to hit the Ye-Lu system and the shipyards there. That meant that the Admirals attack could go ahead, as soon as we had a tactical readout from Wa-Lu about the Baron's forces. It turned out that about ¾ of the Barons forces were committed to this attack. 18 cruisers, and 12 destroyers accompanied by at least 1 pirate clan were on their attack. That left 6 cruisers and 12 destroyers, with some pirates to fend off the Admiral's counterattack. All I could do was to wait for reports to come in as I was sitting this one out...

* * *

It looked like Wa-Lu was going to be hammered. They had a flight of 6 _Akazi's_ assigned to patrol there and two of the three remaining _Loknar_ class cruisers. That was the entire naval contingent there. There was the Wa-Luvian Planetary Fleet as well, and every somewhat operational ship in the system and at the shipyards were pressed into service. Over 100 small ships were available.

The cruisers broke into 6 flights, each with a pair of destroyers accompanying a trio of cruisers. The pirates scattered to cause mayhem on any target of opportunity that they found. Instead of inviting defeat-in-detail, the navy formed two flights of a trio of _Akazi's_ each escorting a _Loknar_. The planetary fleet formed two flights around their two cruisers, with a trio of frigates and an escort each. The smaller ships went on intercept courses with the pirates. That left the Baron with 2 flights facing no opposition. Not that the Wa-Luvians could do anything about them. The defensive flights were moving out to meet the attackers. They would engage at the edge of the star system.

As soon as the fleets were in range of each other the shooting started. It was a pitched battle between the intercepting groups and the attackers. The _Akazi's_ made up the firepower difference between the fleets, while the sheer cussedness of the defending Wa-Luvians made up for their inferior formations. They were viciously defending their home system. And those four battles were going nowhere. The two un-opposed groups sped in to the inner system, and the shipyards.

The first thing that they encountered was a minefield ten million kilometers from Wa-Lu. Those mines caused considerable damage, but did not cripple any ships. The next obstacle was a flight of _Thunderbolt_ fighters defending the yards. Each fighter launched their photon missiles in flights against the cruisers. Each cruiser faced a dozen missiles. After that onslaught two of the cruisers were retreating to the hyper wall. They were knocked out of the fight by the fighters' damage. Then the two flights reached the shipyards. The shipyards weren't defenseless, as they were armed since the early pirate days. Still, they were effectively taken out of action by the two flights of cruisers. The cruisers paid the price for that, being destroyed by the defenses the shipyards had. The other flights fared about the same, but the defenders took as many casualties. When the major shooting was over there were 8 rebel cruisers and 5 destroyers retreating from the system. All were badly damaged. They were the only survivors of the battle. The pirates, the patrol ships and the defending fleets were debris. The shipyards were toast, and had to rebuild, while the naval contingent and planetary fleet were wiped out. Realistically it could have been worse. The Wa-Luvians had effectively held their own against the full attack capacity of the rebel fleet and although bloodied, had survived. Now it was our turn.

* * *

The Admiral's fleet stormed over the Harlequin hyper wall and headed to the third planet within an hour of the attack on Wa-Lu. An additional _Chandler_, the _RCS Clarke_ had been finished at New Moria, and a _Macarthur_ class carrier, the _Westmoreland_, had joined the Admiral's fleet with two more _Akazi's_. As soon as the carrier launched its _Thunderbolt_ fighters, it and an escorting _Akazi_ broke off from the main fleet and headed back across the hyper wall. The pirate fleet, probably most of a clan's ships moved out to engage the Admiral, with the remaining ships of the Baron's fleet. They met halfway between the hyper wall and Tallimatrix, and carnage ensued. The Baron's defending cruisers and destroyers didn't stand a chance. It took less than ten minutes to wipe out the defending fleet and to advance on the planet and shipyards. Another half hour and the shipyards of Tallimatrix looked like those of Wa-Lu. Unfortunately for the Baron, he had no major shipyards left, while the Rimworlds Confederacy still had the shipyards of New Moria, Lorne, and Aventus left intact. The writing was on the wall, and the Baron knew it. A week later the Baron was suing for peace.

Negotiations followed, while the rest of the fleet separated into two fleets. The first was defensive, while the second was an occupation fleet bound for Tallimatrix, and the other rebel planets. The damaged cruisers arriving back in the Harlequin system were interred, and the crews shipped of to the POW camp at the New Moria shipyards. Von Toerbach managed to negotiate succession for Tallimatrix, and that planet left the Confederacy. That meant his men avoided prison on Plaeceum.

Things didn't go as well for the other successionist planets. Bindar's domes had to put up with a new policing force, and Goggic had to put up with a permanent navy patrol fleet, as did Mairsus. As a military planet, it would be pointless to try to send down an occupying force, and if one was needed, the Confederacy usually 'rented' it from Mairsus! As their main export is mercenaries, they are loyal to latinum, and the Baron is no longer paying them. Trebborhorn had the largest occupational force, as it had no central government. Bossilwick petitioned the council to have it returned to them as a colony world, but that didn't pass. Trebborhorn would be allowed to send an independent group of representatives to council after the occupation was over.


	18. Child in Time

**18: CHILD IN TIME**

Why is it that every time that a new rift opens up near the Rimworlds, we are sent out to investigate it? I should be used to it by now, but after getting my newly refitted _Faraway Quest_ back I would have appreciated some time to do a proper shakedown cruise, but nooooo, there was this new rift to investigate, so lets send out the rift runners, even if their new ship is untested. The _RCS Faraway Quest _was refitted with the latest gen-6 warp drive and mega-phasers in the wing positions. Our full crew wasn't on board, so we left the shipyards with a compliment of 140. Even with upgrades we were still just a regular heavy cruiser, but with our reputation...

* * *

The rift runners had a new rift to explore, again halfway between the Confederacy and Tholian space. It took us over a week at warp 10 to get there from Lorne, and only a few seconds to enter the rift. It turned out that the rift seemed to lead to another part of our own galaxy, so no pocket universe this time. The disturbing thing that befell us was what K'Tee was picking up on subspace radio, or more precisely, the lack of what she was picking up. Subspace traffic was rather sparse, and she could not locate any nearby subspace relays nearby. By this time Nergat had determined that we were in Federation space, to the core of Earth, and near Antares. That meant that this region of space should be thick with those relay stations.

"Nergat, set course for the Antares Yards," I commanded.

"Course laid in, sir." Nergat had already anticipated that move.

"Execute at warp 7 if you will," was my reply. Something had happened and it wasn't wise to scream in at top speed, just in case.

* * *

It was eerily quiet on the forward scanners as we approached the Antares shipyards. We were headed to the system TYC 6803-599-1, Theta Antares, where the shipyards actually are. It's an F-type star found 6 parsecs away from Antares itself, since that massive red giant had already consumed the planets in its system. There was no subspace traffic to speak of. _Really odd_, I thought. Theta Antares III was an inhabited planet with a dozen dry-dock facilities in orbit, as well as _Starbase Apollo_, a _Spacedock_ class facility.

As we approached, we found debris where the shipyards should have been. As we closed on the planet, _Starbase Apollo_ came into view from behind the planet. Then it opened fire on us. The starbase phasers sliced through our shields like they weren't there. WHAMMO! Everyone on the bridge was knocked about, and alarms started screaming, from the engineering station to most of the other stations on the bridge.

"Hard a starboard!" I ordered. Time to put the planet back between the starbase and us. We cut to our right and took stock of our situation. "Engineering report!" I ordered.

Ellen came on the intercom. "We took a massive hit down our port side!" She exclaimed. "Everything outside of bulkhead 20 is _GONE_! We lost our port warp nacelle, the rollbar, our torpedo bay, and all port shields."

"John, take over. Your job is to get us out of here alive! I'm heading to engineering," I stated. John took over the center seat while I rushed to engineering. There was no time to waste.

As soon as I reached engineering, John was on the intercom. I left the channel open.

"There is a fleet of ships pursuing us from that starbase. They look like generation two or three vessels."

"Unless we can get some warp power up by the time we reach the warp wall it doesn't mater the generation of those ships. We're dead meat if they have warp power and we don't," I replied.

Ellen interrupted, "but we have lost the port nacelle and overloaded the warp core! We simply don't have warp drive anymore!"

"The starboard nacelle is intact isn't it?" I queried. "The test confguration had only the starboard nacelle running. We should be able to recall the one nacelle configuration from the databanks."

Brent and Marie were on the computers immediately. Our impulse engines were fully operational, and we would reach the hyper limit in less than 10 minutes. By the time that our pursuers reached that point we were toast unless we had some warp drive capability. The clock was ticking...

"Shut down and restart the warp core at 50% power," I ordered. Ellen had that accomplished in under a minute.

"The test configuration should be up on your console," Marie informed.

I looked at it. Indeed, it was a warp configuration for a single nacelle. Unfortunately there was no time to check out how well it worked. We dialed it up just after we crossed the warp wall. The perusing fleet was about two minutes away.

"Time's up guys," John called from the bridge.

A few computer transfers and we were ready. "We have partial warp drive online!" I replied.

"Punch it, Sara," John ordered as he signed off.

The crippled ship leapt to warp. So did our pursuers, as they each crossed the warp wall. Hopefully they were only generation two ships, as we weren't in shape to outrun a gen-3.

Beep-beep-beep-beep- a new alarm sounded throughout engineering.

"We're wormholing!" John exclaimed from the bridge. "Scanners aft," he ordered Maya. John was keeping an open channel to engineering. The gravity field was crushing in on us, making it difficult to move. There was no choice in the matter, the alternative was to be ripped apart by tidal forces from the giant wormhole that our unbalanced nacelle produced.

"The warp core is not shutting down," Ellen stated.

"It will take some time to get back on impulse," I answered. "This compression field also affects the injectors."

"No ships followed us into the wormhole but a large cometary body was dragged in, probably from the systems Kuiper Belt," Maya informed.

"We have no aft weapons left," John stated. "Is it on convergence?"

Maya checked the scanners. "Yes! Convergence in ... ninety seconds!"

I looked at Ellen. She shook her head. We were all dead in ninety seconds. _Time for the ultimate in desperation_. "Arm the ejection charges on all the antimatter bottles," I ordered. Ellen, Marie, and Brent's hands flew over the controls, as fast as the compression field let them.

"Ready!"

"Eject, Eject, Eject!" My hand slammed down on the master control, the 'Big Red Button'. A dozen hatches were blown out into the wormhole, followed by our antimatter bottles. They fell backwards, down the wormhole and towards the comet. Then the warp core sputtered out, as it no longer had any antimatter fuel. We left the wormhole on the wake of a titanic explosion.

We were running on battery power. The aft scanners indicated that the comet was smashed into smaller pieces, which started to rain in on us. We could hear the chunks that struck the ship. Bang! A large chunk struck and knocked everybody about. It also damaged the impulse engines. New alarms sounded. I looked over the boards. _Not good_. The fusion reactors were overloaded, and the interlock had failed. We were dead in space with partial thrusters, and only battery power left. And the explosion told that fleet exactly where we were.

Ten minutes later we were surrounded, and a call for our surrender came in. We surrendered, and were boarded.

An Antarean lead the boarding party. "You are prisoners of Lord Humongous!" _You have got to be kidding_, I thought. "This ship is a prize of war!"

"This ship will be vapor in about another 30 minutes," I whispered to John.

"What was that? And just who are you?" The Antarean ordered.

"Commodore Michael of the _R.C.S. Faraway Quest_." I declined to recite my serial number.

"Take them away," he ordered to his minions. The entire crew were led off of the _'Quest_ and put aboard a prison ship, apparently with a crew of another of this fleet's victims. There were only 104 survivors from the _'Quest_, still tripling the amount of prisoners onboard this rather clunky and outdated ship.

Hopefully the Antarean wouldn't notice the problem until it was too late. We apparently were heading back to _Starbase Apollo_, based on the short trip length. We had only managed to get about an hour's distance from Theta Antares. We hoped that we would be far enough away when the _'Quest_ blew up.

* * *

After being 'processed', we all were separated into groups and put into a series of large cargo holds which held yet other prisoners. We found out that 'Lord Humongous' was a local warlord, who was in control of what remains of _Starbase Apollo_, and that we now were in the 39th century. All of the prisoners here were captured from pirated ships, and all would eventually become slaves, working in the warlord's shipyards. And John was right – those ships were all generation two. Their clunky design meant that when the major empires collapsed, much of their technology went with them.

It took a while for that date to sink in. Apparently Razia was right, and I am really unstuck in time! Over a millennia had passed by this time, more than the 6½ centuries the first time. I wondered how much time passed in her universe. All of the major powers had disintegrated centuries ago. There were still Klingons, Romulans, and others, but they were just shadows of their former selves.

It didn't take long for our first audience with 'Lord Humongous'. He was human, and apparently a student of movie history. His throne was the back half of 1970's vintage black Ford Falcon. I had to laugh at that.

"Just what do you think is so funny?" He roared.

"The Falcon was Max' car. Lord Humongous had a truck-thing," I replied.

That brought a smile to the warlord's face. "Ah, a student of history! You must be from that new ship. Sorry that we had to leave it behind, we seemed to cause it too much damage and it exploded. What you are going to do is get my flagship up and running!"

The warlords' 'throne room' was set up in one of the former observation lounges overlooking the internal shipyards. There was a huge starship in what appeared to be advanced stages of damage and decay. The hull number was still visible: NCC-71844.

"That ship is way past my time," I commented.

"Well once we sort out your crew, you will be putting her in service!" With that he waved his guards up and we were escorted back to the cargo bay.

* * *

"So, Humongous wants to get himself an advanced starship to play with," John mentioned.

"If gen-2 or 3 is the standard for ships around here having that flagship would mean he could take over the entire region," Sara replied. The three of us were the only bridge crew in this cargo hold.

"That means we need to deprive him of it." The last thing anybody needed was a warlord with an advanced starship under his command.

I walked over to a control console, and to my surprise, it fired up. "Well, it looks as if mister-H doesn't know much about all the systems of this starbase, or he wouldn't have left this operational. I tried a Section 31 back door code, and sure enough the computer still recognized it. "Well, well, well. This gets more interesting by the minute!" I was now attracting attention from the other prisoners there.

A few minutes later and I had brought up the sensor image of the hall just outside of our cargo bay. Even Sara wouldn't be able to take out the guards while she was unarmed. Time to try a different tactic. I pulled up blueprints for the deck we were on, and got lucky. A service corridor for the life support system ran just behind the cargo holds, and each one had an access panel leading into it. _We'll just sneak out the back_. And that's just what we did, after locking the cargo bay doors and changing the codes. All in all there were almost 300 prisoners held in a dozen cargo bays, over a third of them were from my ship. We snuck around the service tunnels and Jeffries Tubes until we came out in an observation lounge on the opposite side of the starbase from the 'throne room'.

I crossed over to a control panel and took it over. It was time to scan the shipyards. The warlord's motley fleet was stationed in the smaller bays in the lower part of the spacedock, while a few ships of advanced consruction were in various states in the upper docks. I found out the specifications of the large vessel that the warlord wanted as a flagship. It was an early eighth-generation exploration cruiser, _Galaxy class_, in service starting in 2764, and about 60 years in my future, so to speak. Now that ship was centuries old, and apparently the veteran of many battles. The computer said that it was a long way from being operational.

Time to search for a ship in better condition... found one! Ironically, it was an almost intact and operational _Chandler_ class cruiser of the original Federation design. That meant it had smaller shuttle bays and no flag bridge when compared to the Rim Worlds version. We didn't need one anyway. The warlord had a perfectly good gen-6 flagship right under his nose and didn't see it past his own greed. As the umbilicals were still hooked up to it, I ordered the computer to start the refueling process.

"I think I've found me a replacement starship," I mused out loud.

"Why didn't that 'Humongous' have this ship up and running?" K'Tee asked.

"Probably couldn't see past the big ship. Or his own ego," Toki replied.

"Most likely," Nergat quipped. The bridge crew was back together.

"Let me program up some logic bombs and then we have a starship to grab."

"What are we going to do with all these other people?" At the top of his lungs John asked, "Any of you folks ever work on a generation six starship?"

"Gen-6!"

"No way..."

"There's nothing better than gen-3 in known space these days."

"I guess not," was John's final conclusion. "They are all basically passengers..."

"Sort them out when we get onboard," I concluded. I was currently securing our route to the starship and locking out the warlord's minions.

* * *

Two hours later we had determined that there was nothing wrong with this ship. She was mothballed after about 50 years of service, in good condition, and spent much of the remainder of the Federations existence as a museum ship. Left in the vacuum of space for most of the last 1200 years, her systems were still intact and functional.

We needed to service the ship, getting tissue culture for the food systems, and refurbishing the life support system, but by now she was fuelled and almost ready to go. We used the starbase computers to scout out the materials that we needed, and sent out raiding parties to get them. Having control of the starbase computers made that task a piece of cake. By the end of the day we were ready.

We reset the computers prefix codes, and took up our usual stations on the bridge. One final engineering rundown by Brent...

"All systems are in the green. We can go anytime," Brent informed.

"Toki?" I queried over the intercom.

"All the passengers are dealt with, and sickbay is as ready as it gets," Toki replied.

I checked on my logic bombs. "John, take her out," I ordered.

* * *

The warlord finally realized what we were doing, but only after he had to have his minions cut their way into the cargo holds, only to find them empty. By this time the _R.C.S. Quest 2_, was moving out from its slip. We didn't have to override any space doors, as there was a hole in the structure big enough to fly through. Not that it would have mattered, as we had total control of _Starbase Apollo's_ computers.

"We are being hailed," K'Tee announced.

"On screen. I want to see the look on his face," I responded.

'Lord Humongous' appeared on the viewscreen. "Do you think you can get away with this? Just wait until you are outside!"

"Do you think that if I could get a ship operational and out of here in less than a day I couldn't simply emasculate you?" I answered, defiantly. "Let's see you try to power up the starbase's weapons. I dare you!"

A moment later, Maya chimed in, "Explosions detected on the outer surface of the starbase."

I got the warlord's attention again, "If I see so much as a twitch from your fleet I will send them straight to hell. As for your _Galaxy class_..."

I pointed to John. He already had a spread of torpedoes ready. Four aft torpedoes launched inside the spacedock, and struck the large cruiser. As we were leaving, the torpedoes struck and destroyed that ship, almost taking out the observation lounge that had been turned into a throne room. The blast shot us out the hole that we were leaving, and when we engaged our impulse engines, there was no pursuit. 'Lord Humongous' didn't want his fleet wiped out, so he let the uppity Commodore go. Not like he had any choice in the matter!

The starbase was silent as we left the system. Then again, it was now unarmed, and sported a few new holes in its exterior hull.

Now the big question was where to go. Most of the passengers wanted to be dropped off on an inhabitable planet, preferably one with a spaceport. Time to hunt down a nearby planet. From our guests Morvalia has a functioning spaceport, and is about 20 parsecs from Antares. That was our first stop. After a brief meeting with the locals, some holes in our history were filled in. Just under millennia ago a second General war ravaged across the alpha and beta quadrants, and this time it was total war. No major power from the Breen to the Tholians survived, and anarchy ensued. An era of dark ages ensued throughout this part of the galaxy.

* * *

Our second was a point in space two sectors from Antares. It was here that the rift dropped us off, and with luck, we could find it and go home. I had my doubts, as backwards time travel was nigh – impossible.

Three weeks later and I was sure my luck had run out. When we found a rift, it turned out to lead someplace else entirely.


	19. Sara

**19: SARA**

We were in some strange reality. It reminded me of the rift that the _7__th__ Sister_ entered. This time the gravitational energy eddies were located throughout the space, and not just an artifact of the edge of the dimension. We found that out when we struck one, as soon as we tried to go to warp. Alarms rang through my new ship.

"We have to shut down the warp reactor – we're venting something," came the message from engineering.

"What do the scanners say?" John asked.

"We have no external views!"

Maya checked her board. "Aft scanners are down."

_Great. Just great_. "We still need to check out the damage. Time to check out a shuttle. John..." John took over the center seat. "Sara, care to join me?"

We entered the port shuttle bay and checked over a type-7 shuttle. It appeared to be a newer model than the ship, probably what was on hand when she was retired as a museum. The board checked out and the controls were quite standard. Off we went. Sure enough, we were venting plasma to the upper nacelle. Communications were stifled. We could barely talk to the ship from a few hundred meters away from the interference. As we started to head back to the shuttle bay, we were struck by another gravitational eddy. Everything went red. There was a loud bang, as if we actually collided with the _'Quest 2_. When the red fog cleared, my ship was nowhere to be found. We were drifting through a particularly clear part of this dimension. Our scanner range opened up to a few million kilometers. Absolutely nothing! Time to start an outbound spiral search pattern.

I fired up the shuttles warp drive. That apparently was a really BAD thing to do in this dimension. All we did was to generate another gravitational eddy right on top of us. This one caused damage, and knocked us about, I think.

* * *

When I regained consciousness the first thing I saw was the concern on Sara's face. The second was stars through the window.

"How long was I out?" My head still hurt.

"14 hours," Sara replied, before giving me a kiss. Relieved, she couldn't resist giving me a quick smooch. "We drifted until a ship appeared on the scanners. It wasn't the Quest. It was also riding a laser beacon, and transited through a gate of some sort, and into this universe. I followed it out, and then it opened fire on us. I put that planet between us. That was two hours ago." Beep. Sara checked her board. "There appears to be a flight of small craft coming over the limb of the planet."

I struggled up to the co-pilot's chair. Sara had to help me into the seat. I checked the board. "They look like fighters of some type. They seem to be using reaction drives of some sort."

"The other ship I followed also had a plasma based reaction drive," Sara replied.

"No gravitics. We should be able to avoid them easily," I responded while turning the shuttle around. We left the flight behind as we headed around to the first side of the planet. In orbit about the planet was a space station. A large one, this station was larger than even spacedock. But primitive compared to what was sitting alongside. There was a starship, of Federation design and advanced-looking.

"Recognition chart says that that ship is more advanced even than the warlord's _Galaxy class_. It's a _Sovereign class_ cruiser," Sara mentioned after looking it up. "The station doesn't match any records..."

It took less than a minute to cross over to the station. They had an active defense system of various plasma weapons. It lit up the scanners like a Christmas tree.

"Radio transmission coming from the station," Sara stated as she put it on.

"…to unidentified ship, please respond." A female voice, in English sounded over the comm.

I pressed a control, "This is Commodore Michael and Lieutenant Sara on board a '_Quest_ shuttle."

"Please relinquish ship control for landing," the voice said.

"Our controls will not be compatible with your system," Sara replied. "We will have to land on manual."

"Stand by for instructions," the voice replied. "What are your conventions with respect to measurements and protocols?"

Sara had to explain what our systems could and couldn't do. At least we both used the basically agreed upon metric system, and Sara could understand English.

Sara landed the shuttle in one of their bays under the directions of the voice.

A party from the station greeted us. Sara had to prop me up as I was in no condition to stand. As usual, they were impressed by Sara's appearance. I was brought to their medical center and treated for a concussion.

Sara was an instant celebrity. As a physical angel, as opposed to the species called the 'Vorlons', Sara could go anywhere and do anything. Wherever she went there was a group of beings that followed her every move, including that of protecting me. None of them realized our link, or how it worked, but the command team eventually clued in that we are at least a couple, especially when Sara insisted on being put up in the same quarters as yours truly. Our shuttle was made of the same material as the starship, and this intrigued the base's commander, one John Sheridan. He wanted, almost desperately, to go aboard the _Sovereign_, but didn't find a way into one of the ships airlocks.

That's where we came in. I was pretty sure I could board that ship, and with Sara at my side, convincing the command staff to let us be their guides was a piece of cake. Sara vouched for me, and that was enough. Apparently, the last 'angel' aboard this station had to be forcibly ejected, so the 'relaxed' form of Sara, and myself presented a new situation for the crew, as well as our knowledge about the ship they found.

We were preparing my shuttle for the short trip to the ship. Even in its damaged state, the shuttle was in good condition for such a short hop. There were four of us, Sara, John Sheridan, Susan Ivanova, the voice that talked us in, and myself.

We had to don spacesuits and do a spacewalk across the hull to the nearest airlock. I had a power pack, which I plugged into the airlock controls to power them up. Yet another Section 31 code and we were standing in a corridor inside the ship. Checking my suit instrumentation, the life support was off, and the engines were all powered down. _Time to head to engineering_. There was minimal lighting, powered from the ships nuclear batteries. We headed into the bowels of the ship.

When we reached main engineering, I easily started up the impulse reactors, and brought life support online. Ten minutes later and I could take off my helmet, and breath in the cold, but warming, air. It would be another half hour before life support was fully online. I checked the warp drive. No joy there. Engines were intact and functional, but had no antimatter fuel onboard. Where we were headed first, that didn't matter. I found a legacy data port and uploaded my personal dataset into the ships' computers.

I turned to John Sheridan. "Can you open that dimensional gate remotely?"

"Yes we can." He pulled out a communicator, and tried to contact the station.

"You won't get past the structural integrity field with that, let alone a ships shields," I mentioned as I regarded his primitive radio. "Try the intercom." I patched him through the ships communications. We could also record the 'Jump Gate Sequence' so we could transmit to any jump gate to open a rift from this universe to 'hyperspace'.

Soon enough an energy field erupted in the gate. "That gateway only stays open for about 90 seconds," John mentioned.

"Watch this!" I already had a course laid in and engaged the impulse engines. The next thing anybody noticed was that we were back in that odd dimension, that the humans of the station called Hyperspace 1. It was essentially a pocket universe that overlaid their own, allowing space travel with slow, sub-light reaction drive powered ships. It definitely was _NOT_ compatible with our warp drive, but impulse engines seemed to work fine. Time to find my other ship. The powerful scanners had many times the reach of the small shuttle, and within the second hour we found the _Quest 2_, while it was undergoing a search pattern.

"Honey, I'm home!"

John was in the center seat. "Where are you?"

"I should be on your scanners about ... now. I was kind of held up scoring another starship. By the way, John, meet John and Susan. They're from a station..."

"Babylon-5."

"Which we need to return to. But don't use warp drive in this dimension! That's what caused all the problems in the first place."

* * *

Two Federation starships surrounded the station. One was damaged, and the other one relatively intact. The crew was transferring to the _Sovereign_, which I re-christened _Future's Bounty_. We also were transferring the antimatter from the _Quest 2_ as well. I had to explain to John Sheridan that this ship should not be here, and he reluctantly agreed. I also agreed to land the '_Quest 2_ on the surface of Epsilon 3 and leave it with it's caretaker, Draal. "When they are ready," was Draal's promise. Draal was the caretaker for the planets advanced technology, so he would keep the starship safe for the future when it would be available to the races of this universe.

We were here for about a month when a ship came through the gate at a high rate of speed for a reaction drive ship. K'Tee was monitoring RF channels, and that ship was screaming warnings about a fleet of black ships headed here. By this time the _'Bounty_ was operational, and in fact we were preparing to leave.

"Incoming communication," K'Tee announced.

Sure enough John Sheridan's face appeared on the viewer, with someone new to me. "We could sure use your help with this!" He requested.

"No problemo. I'll have you and your companion beamed aboard," I replied. Then to Allan, "Two to beam from their command center to our bridge."

There was a metallic scream and a flash of light and John Sheridan and his companion, Delenn, standing in front of the 'ops' consoles. The look on their faces was worth it. "Now I understand when you say we are not ready."

We moved out and through the gate. "So what are we facing?"

"Shadow vessels. A fleet of them. They are the most powerful ships in existence-" Delenn mentioned.

"I beg to differ." Running on impulse, I had the power of the warp core for shields and weapons, and what a set of weapons this puppy had. Two forward and one aft multi-fire torpedo launchers each capable of firing a dozen torpedoes at once. The phasers were grouped in collimator rings instead of banks of turrets. The 15 strips were each many times more powerful than a phaser bank, especially the two large ones on the primary hull. Since I had no idea what a quantum torpedo would do in this hyperspace dimension, I decided to stick with regular photon torpedoes in my load out. Running on thrusters, we began our scans.

"A number of objects are approaching from 270 mark 14. Range, 4 million," Maya reported. "Just over 2 dozen."

"Sara, plot an intercept course and engage," I ordered. John was at tactical. "Heat 'em up." The fleet had dropped back and one large ship approached, a much larger ship than this one.

"That's interesting. That ship is alive – it registers as only two life forms- one human!" Maya exclaimed.

"The shadows use people as their CPU," Delenn explained. "Like the Vorlons, their technology is organic."

"Range 1 million and closing. I'm still detecting no shields around that ship," Maya updated. We were actually closing on it at a much faster rate than it was closing on us. "Its drive is graviton based, organic, and reactionless."

"And they never miss...unless they want to. This ship is new to them, so they deliberately my try to take you alive."

"Nice of them," I replied. "I don't think that I will be that sporting, specially when I actually have the advantage."

"Range?"

"Awfully close – 400 000...300 000...200 000."

"What are they waiting for?"

"Energy buildup on target," Maya stated. At 100 000 kilometers range they fired an energy beam at us. John and Delenn were surprised that we were unaffected by the direct hit. The shields did exactly what they were supposed to. But it was a big hit.

"Outer shields down to 85%," Nergat chimed in

"Apparently we are a greater threat that they deemed required a direct hit," I replied. "At point blank range I won't miss either. John, a phaser if you would," I ordered.

The phaser struck at 80 000 km range. Its effective range was just over a million. Standard torpedoes were good for about 750 000, and cruise torpedoes put the entire shadow fleet under my guns from here. The ship 'died'. The phaser cooked it, carbonized it, and then vaporized part of it. I could have sworn that I smelled burnt flesh.

"Shadow vessels are declared soft targets," Maya stated. "They don't have a structural integrity field either."

"The other ships are closing again," Sara informed.

"Foolish. John, two full spreads of torpedoes, no compression. We will end this in one shot. As soon as impulse engines engage, we'll swing around and fire. Sara," I ended with.

"Bringing impulse engines online," Sara answered. She spooled up the drive and we flashed through their formation before turning around. John fired our torpedoes, and each torpedo found a different target. The _Bounty_ flashed through 2-dozen nuclear fireballs and headed back to the gate.

"You use _nuclear weapons_ as standard ship weapons?" Delenn asked incredulously.

"Actually a straight nuke would only do minimal damage to a starship. You need to keep the blast compressed in order to penetrate a ships shields or structural integrity field. Those warheads are magneto-photonic compression antimatter warheads. Now you really know why we have to leave you alone. Our universes are that different."

"Does the Quest 2 have these weapons?" Delenn asked.

"Yes, and Draal knows it. I explained everything to him, hence his promise to me," I explained.

"I see. You seem to be wise beyond your years," Delenn mentioned.

"It's the company I keep," I replied as I hugged Sara.

We returned to the station in silence, and then bid our farewells before returning to the hyperspace dimension. As long as we didn't try to activate our warp coils, we could avoid the gravity eddies. Now we had to find our own way back home. And I had an idea about that too.

"Let's build a rift bomb," I mused aloud, to no one in particular.

"With what?" John asked. "We don't have any of those mana crystals."

"No but we're sitting in a dimension full of gravity eddies. We need to find one with the right characteristics, and then with the help of a few shuttle impulse – or warp - drives, encourage it to open a rift."

"What if it leads somewhere else?" This time it was Nergat doing the asking.

"Even a pocket universe is better than here and it will have mana crystals in it," K'Tee chimed in.

After a few days of having the engineering crew tinkering in the shuttle bay we had it – the "Kludge-o-matic rift maker". There was only one way to see if it works, and that was to try it out. Now all we had to do was wander about until we found an eddy with the right signature, and get our device out in front of it.

"Why do I have the feeling that we're jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire?" John asked, using one of my old idioms.

"I don't know, I don't feel that way," I replied.

"You didn't grow up on the rim where space is thinner there."

"Yeah but I probably have spent more time in rifts than the average bear," I mentioned. "Our little crew didn't get the title 'the Rift Runners' for no reason, you know."

"Yeah, but that's not what we actually signed on for!" John exclaimed. "I transferred to the _'Quest_ to get on a real ship. If I knew we would end up exploring all these alternate realities..."

"Come on. You can't say that it hasn't been a ride."

"No I can't!" John answered. "Regardless of what happens, I can't say that being here has been boring! I just hope that this thing works."

That went for everyone on board as well. "Here we go!" We dropped our device in front of the eddy, and detonated it at the moment of collision. Sure enough a rift formed, and we flew through it.

* * *

We were back in a universe with stars and galaxies. The question was which one. I now knew of three that looked like this but only one of them was home. Time to determine where we are.

"Nergat..."

"On it!" He replied. Then later, "We are rimward and spinward of Earth. I have a course laid in for Ferasa."

I looked at K'tee. Her ears had perked up at the mention of her sun. "Let's visit Cait!"

"Yes, lets," K'tee replied. Both she and her husband would like to see how their home planet faired after the fall of the federation.

We decided not to blaze right in. Cait did not have a starbase, and they were a predominantly peaceful race, so I wasn't expecting to be shot at, this time. As we entered the system there was a large amount of RF and some subspace chatter. The dilithium mines in the asteroid belt were still operational, and we took up an orbit around Cait after K'Tee got in contact with them. We were back in our own universe, and stuck in the 39th century. Cait had become a hub for the surrounding region of space and there were some fourth and fifth generation ships here as well. We paid a brief visit to the ruling council while K'Tee and family visited their clan.

I had found out that there were a few hubs of civilization left in the galaxy, and that New Psychonia was one of them. I had decided to go home, despite the rather ludicrous offer for my ship. Apparently a generation-8 ship was worth its weight in latinum! And I had the only version in the sector!


	20. Broken Wings

**20: BROKEN WINGS**

I had a dark feeling for some time. It was a vague emptiness and dread that I couldn't shake. But we were fine, our commandeered _Sovereign class_ heavy cruiser, dubbed _Future's Bounty_, was running fine, even so effectively short staffed. Maya was at the science station, John on tactical, Sara and Nergat on helm and navigation, respectively. K'tee was running the comm. board. Alan was either in the shuttle bay or transporter control, and Tony was with Dwayne down in security. In fact they were ships security! Ellen was with Marie and Brent down in engineering. And the rest of the _'Quest_ crew, were either busy familiarizing themselves with their new ship, or doing their usual off duty activities. So other than the fact that we were stuck in the 39th century, the major powers had fallen into anarchy, it was business as usual for the _Rift Runners_.

* * *

I dreamt of the _Parhelion_, and Razia. They themselves were rift running, but had apparently become trapped. What's worse, the ship was under siege ... by ghosts? _That's a strange dream_, I thought after I woke up, until Sara told me she had dreamt exactly the same dream.

_Oh. Crap_. I quickly dressed and headed to the bridge. Nergat had started early. "Change of plans." I took over the science station and brought up the star maps.

"Those will be out of date."

"Yeah but in two thousand years a star won't have moved far, and it should have the same spectrum." A star moving at the rotational speed of the galaxy took over 5000 years to move 1 single grid coordinate over. It is the weird things like novae, nebulae and rifts that had to be kept track of. I put up the coordinates and Nergat plotted the course. I pressed an intercom button, "Engineering, I'm going to ask you to whip the horses for me."

Ellen replied, "We should have no problem maintaining warp factor 9.6."

"What's that in English please?"

"Oh right. That's warp 15, you old Luddite," Ellen joked. "Why are we in such a hurry?"

"We need to rescue someone, actually a whole ship full of someones. And we need to find them. Yesterday."

"I'll see if I can push 16 then."

"Thanks," I signed off as Sara came in and took up her station.

"Wow, we're in a hurry!" Sara exclaimed after checking out her board.

"We have two destinations to go to, preferably yesterday." Sara knew exactly why.

"Just two? Don't we have to open a rift?"

"Yeah but we caught a break on that one. I've been going over the schematics of this ship, and it comes with a few standard extras, aside from those warp drives. First the forward deflector is quantum configurable. The second is that we have fast conformal transporters." That meant that the transporters wormhole could be shaped to fit around anything that would fit on a pad, and even larger if you were doing a point-to-point transport.

"What's Quantum configurable?" K'tee asked.

"That means that the deflectors gavitic array can be changed from forward travel deflection mode to anything we program it for. Including rift opening. In this case the configuration should be on file, in my personal dataset," I explained. This ship also had the power to spread the rift wide enough to fit through.

John entered the bridge, did a quick check. "OK, what's up?" he asked.

"We have another rescue and this one's time sensitive. And in another universe."

"Aren't we done with rift running for awhile?" he asked.

"Afraid not. This trip is into one of those pocket universes – one called Ravnica. And first, we need to find the door," I replied.

"And just how do we do that?"

"I have just the planet we need. It's less than two weeks away at maximum warp."

"So that's why we're redlining the drives ... got it," John finally replied.

"Good. I might have to spend some quality time down in engineering, so if I'm not on the bridge when expected, the chair is yours," I instructed.

* * *

The _'Bounty_ was slicing through the vast darkness at over 15 thousand times the speed of light, the parsecs passing by every two hours. We reached our target in less than two weeks. And each night Sara and I dreamt the same dream. Each time there seemed to be fewer angels in it.

"Take up a high orbit, and scan the southern continent for an energy signature." I ordered. Maya found it in under a minute. Even with these newer scanners we still couldn't see inside the structure.

"I'll need to take a runabout down and beam in from the ground. Maya, Sara, with me." I ordered. "Nergat keep the ship in a high orbit. If all goes well you are going to be hit by a gravity wave. A big one."

The trip to the surface was uneventful, as was the transport in. The power source appeared to be still operating fine. The mileage on that source was now at least 202 MILLENNIA. I introduced Maya and Sara to the panels. Like Razia, Sara could partially read the language. Sure enough we did a map reset with a big gravity wave spreading out at over warp 81. With the rift location found, we returned to the ship for a three-week trip at flank speed.

* * *

As soon as we crossed into the rift, I felt pain, like someone hit me with a baseball bat in the chest. Toki was on the bridge, and had administered me with a powerful drug concoction, that would allow me to operate with a level head – for a while. He had seen this once before, but in this case Sara was the source and not the recipient. Basically, he gave me a massive sedative with a massive but temporary stimulant. When the fainting hits then it is lights out and into an artificial coma.

We were moving in system to a class M planet at impulse, having entered this "mana-verse" within the star's hyper limit. ETA was under 15 minutes. I was pretty sure it was the planet Ravnica, as the continents were recognizable from here.

"We are looking for another rift, this one close to the planet, apparently close enough to be visible from the ground." I explained. "The _Parhelion_ is larger than the _'Bounty_, so you should be able to fly right in." That might not be true in tonnage, but with citadels and all sails out, it was impressively _big_. "Maya you are looking in system for mana crystals as well. We need a supply, just in case. If you find some send Allan the coordinates for a beam up."

I had doubled over in pain. Even after the drug had taken effect, the double life-link had its effect on me. Now my lungs felt as if I were breathing fire, while I felt that I was suffering a heart attack. There were less than a couple hours left before I would have to shut down, as Toki said that I could only take one dose of this drug. Something new, and bad, had happened.

"Rift detected on forward scanners." Maya responded.

"On screen." The schism appeared over a particularly uninhabited part of the planet. As soon as I saw it I knew we had to go through the new rift. "Enter that rift. Our target is in there."

Sure enough when we entered the rift I felt even worse. How long I could operate I didn't know. I didn't have much time left on the drug. The dimension inside this rift was strangely gray. Colors seemed to be faded as if they experienced a type of red shift.

"Warp drive offline," Brent announced. "Shields are non-operative as well."

_Oh, great_ I thought. "What about impulse?" I asked.

"Impulse _power_ has been recalibrated and is on line, but at reduced efficiency. No thrust, though. Motive power is just the thrusters. We still have transporters."

"Begin scans, Maya." I ordered. "You're looking for a ship out of anime. Long and sleek, with sails as well as an impulse engine," I stated.

"Found it," Maya replied. It was the only other thing in the sky besides us. "It's under attack. Life signs on board, but they are disappearing quickly."

"Transporter room. Allan, as soon as you can lock on to a life sign, beam it directly to sickbay. Don't wait for any order! Get out whoever you can." I ordered.

* * *

The vampire-ghost Szadek was in the engine room of the _Parhelion_, hovering over Razia's body. He didn't see the Firemane angel that heard the fighting and eventually followed into the engine room. After impaling Razia with her own sword, Szadek gloated. But for some reason she didn't die immediately, leaving him puzzled. The other angel there had escaped the ship and was gone. No point in going after her as long as angels were still alive on board. At that point the Firemane angel attacked Szadek. But she was absolutely outclassed. Szadek was parrying every blow while still contemplating why Razia survived an obviously fatal wound. It was frustrating and maddening for the Firemane angel as Szadeck wasn't even concentrating on her. Eventually he became tired of this, as he decided what to do next.

A single neat parry of the Firemane's sword, and Szadek ran her through with a single blow. He stepped into a close grip and even kissed the Firemane Angel.

"I have a gift for you," he grinned. "Before you die you will get to see the final moments of your guild master. I'm going to take her head as a personal trophy." He pulled his sword out of her, and slid the Firemane's mortally wounded body to the deck, so that she was facing her guild master. Then he stepped over to Razia, sword held high. "Behold the end of your guild master."

As the sword came slicing down there was a metallic scream and a flash of light. The sword sliced through the empty space where Razia used to occupy, and embedded itself into the deck. Then a moment later, with another flash and metallic scream the Firemane angel was elsewhere.

The lighting was strange. The walls were the wrong color. Hands picked her off of the deck and moved her. "We have another run through." She heard someone say. Another voice "Put her into life support until I can get to her. Put that one into surgery ... This one's gone ... Prep body for organ transplant ... Send that one to ICU." Then darkness came for the Firemane angel...

* * *

By this time I had fainted. That was the warning sign. I had 10 – 15 minutes left of the drug's part mercy. Sara noticed. I remember being carried through a corridor. _Why are there feathers in my face_? I wondered. I wasn't thinking straight. Then blackness came for the commodore as well.

* * *

I woke up in sickbay, with Toki hovering over me. "Welcome back to the land of the living." He told me. I had been out for almost two days straight, after being put into an artificial coma by Toki, who looked like he had been awake for two days straight. "Razia pulled through her surgery thanks to you and Sara," he stated. "She is currently resting, with a new heart and lung transplant. The other angel made it through a heart and lung transplant as well."

"What other angel?" I asked.

"This one," Toki pointed out. The angel had a lot of red feathers in her plumage.

"A Firemane angel." I replied. "She needs to be kept sedated. If she wakes up before Razia can talk to her she may go nuts in our sick bay, and we don't need her on a rampage."

"OK. Keep the red feathered one sedated. Good call," Toki replied.

"What else happened while I was away?" I asked.

"Well, the spectral entities managed to breach the hull, and get inside the ship. A few personnel were injured, but phasers proved an effective defense. We hid deep in the system, until a rift bomb could be made. We are now back in our own universe, but we suffered major damage to one of our systems..."

"Let me guess, it's the warp drive." I replied. I didn't hear the keening of the engines so I realized that something must be wrong with them.

"Got it in one," Toki replied. "Apparently the rift home collapsed pre-maturely and the back halves of the nacelles were simply 'lopped off'. We currently are crawling towards New Psychonia at impulse speed."

"Then I need to get to engineering," I replied. "There must be some way to salvage the engines; otherwise this trip could take years at impulse. We need warp drive, and soon. I'm not getting any younger, you know."

"And just how does one replace that which is simply missing?" Toki asked.

"Leave that to me. By the way, how many angels did we save?"

"31, of the 37 that we beamed aboard," Toki stated solemly.

"That's it!" I had a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. I remembered there were close to a thousand angels on the _Parhelion_. I was hoping there would be hundreds here.

Toki put a hand on my shoulder. "That's all who were remaining on that ship. Those spirits had already gotten the rest..."

"What am I going to tell Razia when she wakes up? I promised her that I would return ... Is Anezka among the survivors?"

"I don't know," Toki replied. "I will have to ask them as they come to. You should still get some rest."

"I'm fine. As long as our warp drive is offline I'll just have to get some sleep when I'm dead. You need to get some sleep more than I do," I left the sickbay and before heading down to engineering, sought out Sara. I explained to her that our new angelic guests weren't used to the ways of a mana-less universe, and, with the exception of Razia, they all needed 'training'. Sara volunteered to do the explaining. We had set aside the unused half of sickbay as an "angel barracks" where the survivors could congregate. Besides, it was handy to sickbay, as some angels would be coming around before others, depending on their injuries. Entur looked as strung out as Toki...

* * *

Allan had entered the sickbay to talk to Toki when the Firemane angel woke up. The Firemane had apparently beaten the sedation that was keeping her in recovery. As nurses tried to hold her down she was struggling to get up and out of bed. Allen and Toki, waded in to help, as Toki was about to inject the angel, she slammed Allan in the chest with her bare fist. There was a hideous crunch as Allan was sent flying across the room and into the wall. The angel then sprinted out through the sickbay doors, and found herself in an unfamiliar corridor.

* * *

"Security alert!" Toki announced over the intercom. "A Firemane angel is rampaging through the ship."

"Oh, great," I told Sara. I picked up my phaser belt and headed out towards sickbay. Sara also picked up a phaser and set it to 'angel stun'. "That's all we need." We headed down the corridor on deck 10. I was circling it clockwise while Sara ran the other way. Hopefully the Firemane didn't try to hide or wander off into the bowels of the ship. Sure enough I found her on the corridor ring that went around the sickbay. "Stop!" I commanded.

She ran right at me. I brought one of my phasers to bear and fired. A heavy stun blast was right on target, but she still kept coming. Then Sara shot her from behind, having raced around the corridor and caught up with us. That still didn't stop her , so I shot her again, catching her in my arms before she could crumple to the deck. I picked her up and threw her over my shoulder, and hunted down a couple of pressure points. She still wasn't completely stunned, running on adrenalin, or the angelic equivalent. "Calm down," I urged. "You just got a new heart and lungs, don't overload them just out of surgery." I carted the angel through the sickbay doors with Sara patting me on my shoulder and heading back to our quarters. I put the angel into the bed right next to Razia, and turned her to face her guild master. Hopefully the sight of her guild master would have a calming effect. Then I turned to Toki. "What just happened?"

"The red feathered one managed to beat Razia out of the sedative. She struck Allan, and broke some of his ribs."

"And that's the thanks I get for saving her ass," Allan moaned. He was only half serious, and with Toki's help, no permanent damage was done.

Razia started to come around. Then she sat bolt upright in her bed and then after a moment looked around. I walked over to her bed and sat down on it, giving her an embrace. "Welcome back to the mana-less universe," I said.

She just hugged me and cried, for what seemed to be an eternity. "Stephen Michael. Against all odds you come to rescue me again. My daughters are dead! And I was the one who got them killed!" Razia sobbed. I just cried with her.

"Well, we managed to save a few..." I trailed off.

The Firemane angel was sitting up in the next bed. She put up a hand when Toki approached, as she had completely calmed down. She then came over and embraced the pair of us.

"Szadek did this to us, holiest. Not you," the Firemane angel replied.

"And I blamed Pierakor- Feather!" She looked at the Firemane angel, "Edana?" Then she looked around at the few angels still in sickbay. "How many?" Razia queried. My eyes held the answer, _not enough_.

"Thirty one," Toki replied. He was going over both angels with a medical scanner.

"You must be Toki. I've 'heard' a lot about you," Razia explained.

"Yes I am. I'm the one who replaced your heart and lungs. And also yours," Toki told the Firemane angel. "Hopefully I did not cause offence by using your deceased daughters for organ transplants..." Toki trailed off.

"No offence was made. The fact that we are here is testament to both of your talents."

"Uhmn, before you break my ribs like she did to Allan..."

Razia relented on the squeeze she had put on me. Edana turned as red as her feathers. "I'm sorry."

"Tell that to Allan. He's over there," I pointed to his bed. The Firemane angel went over to Allan. They talked for some time.

As soon as Toki gave the OK to Razia, she followed me to my quarters.

"Uhmn, Razia, this is Sara in the flesh..." I trailed off. _This is going to be awkward_, I thought to myself. The two angels regarded each other for but the briefest moment. Then both spoke in unison.

"Don't worry. The two of us have already decided to share you, if you can keep up!"

* * *

I woke up needing a rest from my rest. I had my personal job cut out for me! Keeping two angels satisfied would take some doing, and Razia, seemed to me, to be almost desperate. But I now slept in a 6-winged living feather bed, of my own making. I'm definitely going to have to turn down the heat in my quarters. And my quarters were also going to be a little crowded from here on. Angels take up _space_. _Time for some coffee and bagels_, I thought. Unfortunately my supply of the 'good stuff' was a over a millennia in the past. I was in my ready room working out a way to bring the warp drive partially on line when a chime sounded at my door. "Enter," I answered.

Edana entered and came to attention. "I have a request from you," she said.

"Go ahead," I replied.

"I want to join with Allan," she said.

"So?" I asked. "If you want to join with Allan, that's between you and him. I'm not his keeper, you know. The person that you need permission from is Razia."

"Razia has given us her blessing. In fact, she thinks that all the remaining angels may bond with members of your crew, if they so choose. That way, there will be someone 'other' to protect them, just in case. We made the mistake of believing in our own superiority, and that cost us dearly..."

"Then I suggest that you talk to Allan." I responded. "He is his own man, and can make decisions like that for himself. Besides, I think you owe him an apology. If you do it right, you will have him forever," I winked at her. She just smiled at me.

* * *

Edana and Allan had become a pair. The Firemane's apology had apparently gone over extremely well. I joked with him about how many hours it would take Toki to get the smile back off of his face.

I was in the port nacelle, which was shut completely down. Even the gravity was off, so you would have to float along the catwalk. I was coasting down the nacelle to the emergency doors when I collided in midair with an angel who came out of the second Jeffries tube. "Hey! You have wings! You can maneuver in here while I cant!"

Apparently that wasn't the point. The angel grabbed me, hugged me, and then kissed me. "Thank you for coming back for her holiest. Without you the angels of Boros would be extinct now." Before I could respond another angel came up from behind me and did the same.

"Hey! No Fair! Besides I'm taken – twice! I'm going to be busy enough," I blurted.

That brought a giggle from the pair of angels. They weren't used to being on the 'human side' of their existence, which they were in this universe. It turned out that the two angels, Pense and Caladea, were the only two survivors of Razia's engineers. Both were fascinated by the warp drive and were studying it both for their own edification as well as seeing if they could help out. The fact that the "angel savior" was in the engines himself presented an opportunity that they couldn't refuse. While I was checking out the available warp coils, and thinking of a possible reconfiguration, the angels were hanging off every move I made, intent on learning everything about the (disabled) warp drive as they could. My mission in the nacelle became as much a teaching mission as it was a repair mission.

Not that I really minded. I could use their winged maneuverability in the un-powered spaces while I checked on the warp coils. I was explaining that the warp drive itself actually had no moving parts, and the main wear point was the dilithium crystal chamber that fed the warp core itself. As our warp core was intact and functioning we had warp power, but not warp speed. We needed to feed plasma energy from the warp core to the warp coils in such a way, as they would create a gravity field that would allow the ship to move at ultra-luminous speed. Since half of the warp coils were now missing, we had to reconfigure the remaining coils to at least create a warp field. How fast we could go was a matter of the coils, and computer modeling and synthesis. That's why I was in here personally. The ship was in John's capable hands, as he had the simple job of limping 'home' on impulse power. The warp drive needed to be at least in part restored to service if we didn't want to take about 5 years to return to New Psychonia.

* * *

The last day I was in the nacelles, the angels were conspicuously absent. My job was simple, setting plasma valves for proper feed to match my new trial warp drive configuration. Then it hit me – Razia wasn't in my quarters this morning when I woke up, just Sara. As soon as I finished I headed to the bridge. Apparently Sara traded a shift with Darris, and wasn't on the bridge either. I left John in the center seat with a puzzled look on his face as I entered the turbo lift. "Computer, what is the location of Sara?" I queried

"Lieutenant Sara is currently in the main shuttle bay," the computer replied.

"And the location of Razia?"

"Guest Razia is currently in the main shuttle bay."

"OK, who all is in the main shuttle bay?" I queried.

"There are 32 members of two angel species in the main shuttle bay. Shall I list their names?"

"No," I replied as I instructed the turbo lift to go to the main shuttle bay.

As I entered the bay sure enough all the angels were here, flying laps of the bay and discussing their current predicament. Then it really hit me. The shuttle bay doors were open! I immediately crossed to a control panel and hit the emergency override, which started the door closure sequence. Then I yelled, at the top of my lungs, "HEY FEATHERHEADS!" That got their attention. Edana looked like she was going to slap me for that but didn't. "I need your undivided attention for a minute!"

Razia had an amused look as she asked, "Whom are you calling a featherhead? We were just discussing the future of the angels, and I hope you are not offended that we asked Sara to join us. She suggested we use the shuttle bay as we could spread our wings in here."

"Look, it's not whether you want to discuss amongst yourselves or use this space to fly around in, it's just that I nearly had a heart attack when I saw the doors were open."

"I just opened them so we could see the view while we flew," Pense responded. Even Sara was puzzled by my outburst.

"Lieutenant Sara, did nobody go over shuttle operations with you at all?"

"No, the only one who showed me the shuttle bay on any starship was you, when you found out how important flying was to me, even in a small space."

"All right, let me explain. The atmosphere barrier field does not prevent anything solid or liquid with a density over a certain threshold from passing through it. The problem even if you touch it even by accident that section gets deactivated, specifically so a shuttle can fly in or out. What's worse, there's a vacuum on the other side and nothing stopping the force of the atmosphere on this side from 'sucking you right out into space'. Now I know you could survive a total vacuum, but with the ship traveling at impulse we are still FTL, and when the ship left you behind the tidal forces of the engine's wake would probably rip you apart. Now there are only the 32 of you left and I want to keep it that way!"

Razia gave me a hug and a kiss. "Thank you for caring, lover, again. Now scat. We still have some angel talk which even some favorite mortals shouldn't interfere. I promise we will leave the doors closed and use the observation deck for views."

"Fine, just let Pense and Caladea know that I'm doing a warp drive test and run-up tomorrow. See you later," I ended.

"Dinner at eight, don't be late!" _Razia has definitely been hanging around me too long_, I thought as I left the hangar.

* * *

Sure enough dinner was at eight. We started in eerie silence.

Then I finally got impatient. "Alright, what's the big deal and why was I not invited?" Sara and Razia looked at each other, and Razia burst out laughing.

"You were right," Sara answered. "That's exactly what you predicted he would say." _And angels don't have a sense of humor..._

"Sorry to kick you out like that, but this was a decision that the Boros angels had to make by themselves," Razia explained. "With our expanding attachments with your crewmembers we needed to consult without our emotional attachment to mortals. Now don't get me wrong, we appreciate all that you and your crew did for us and are still doing. And we appreciate that if we thought a little less like our original selves and more like Feather, we might have not fallen into Szadek's trap." Razia held my hands, "You see, we had to make this decision by ourselves..."

Now I was getting frustrated. "What decision?"

"We have decided to return to Ravnica as soon as it is possible."

"That's it! That's what the fuss is all about? I could have told you that would be your decision as soon as I woke up in sickbay! You didn't need a secret meeting to tell me that which I already knew!" Now I was puzzled.

"But that means disruptions to other peoples lives now. We had to make a detached decision as angels, but knowing full well it will affect your crew, at least parts of it..."

"Uh, Razia, in case nobody brought you up to speed on our current status, we effectively don't have lives that already haven't been disrupted. The entire crew is out of time now. When we first met it was in the 27th century as we measure time in this universe. It's now the 39th century. As far as K'tee has been able to pick up subspace transmissions, there is no Rim Worlds Confederacy anymore, and the authority that gave me my commodore's rank lies in the annals of history. There are no families waiting for their lost loved ones. All the people we knew outside of this ship are over 1 millennia dead."

"So you will come with us?" Razia looked hopeful.

"I didn't the last time and it looks like it was for a good reason," I replied while looking straight at Sara. "At this point my future is uncertain, but barring a major impediment the answer is yes. But don't be surprised if we go on excursions from time to time, but I'm not about to lose you again..."

And that's when a double angel hug nearly crushed me. With two angels squeezing it made breathing particularly difficult. But at least the evening's activities were _really fun_, and really tiring.

* * *

"Heat 'em up," I ordered from the engineering console. In the main engineering room there were a motley assortment of beings. Pense and Caladea represented the angel contingent, while Ellen and myself represented the humans. Marie represented the Mek-Tacs, while Brent monitored the situation from the bridge. Plasma was slowly injected to the warp coils to bring them up to operating temperature. And that meant nobody was to be in the nacelles, unless they planned on committing suicide. I made it a personal point to ensure that the angels didn't wander off to oblivion while we started the warp drive. Pense had taken a liking to John, my X.O., and I expected them to be a couple within the week.

As soon as the warp coils were up to operating temperature, I set the configuration for a static warp field and brought up the coils to full power. We were looking for any deficiencies in the current set of coils themselves. Finding none, I ordered the warp drive configured for warp 1. As soon as we engaged the drive, the ship leapt to warp 1. _So far, so good, now to ramp up the power_.

I called the bridge to call for warp 2. As soon as the command came back to the engineering section the engines responded flawlessly. Then as we ramped up speed we found that the maximum stable warp speed was warp 5, with a possible push to warp 6, in emergencies. We now were headed to New Psychonia at warp 5, and the trip would now take 9 weeks instead of 5 years. Caladea was ecstatic about our warp drive capabilities, and with the damaged engines she was in awe of my abilities. I decided not to play up the training I had received through the auto-teacher so she would find someone else to cling to.

* * *

As soon as we were within 10 parsecs of New Psychonia, a squadron of ships intercepted us. The 4 ships were of a design that I hadn't seen before, but that was not unexpected. What was unexpected was the generation of those ships. They appeared to be even more advanced than the _Sovereign_ class cruiser that I currently commanded. Their size was that typical of the _Faraway Quest_, against the _Sovereign_, they would be light cruisers or destroyers. The class was called _Courageous_, and those ships were sweet little ships in design.

"This is the _NPDF Galleon_ calling unidentified ship. Please respond."

I hit the comm. button, "This is the _R.C.S. Future's Bounty_, Commodore Michael commanding."

"Just a moment _Future's Bounty_," came the reply. A minute later, "Did you claim that you are a Rimworlds Confederate ship?"

"That is correct _Galleon_. This crew is from the late _R.C.S. Faraway Quest_, late of the 27th century."

"I see, _Future's Bounty_. Stand by." Then there was silence as the 4 ships fell into formation with our ship.

I bet they are sending info up the chain of command and waiting for instructions. Sure enough after a few minutes, "_Future's Bounty_, I regret that the Rim Worlds Navy no longer exists. We have been instructed to escort you to the shipyards at New Moria."

"That's all right, _Galleon_. We expected that, and our original destination was the New Moria shipyards," I replied.

"Then welcome home crew of the _Faraway Quest_," was the final exchange of our first contact.

* * *

When we arrived in the Psyche system, we briefly became celebrities, as both a crew that resurfaced out of the past (there were some legends arising out of the disappearance of the _Faraway Quest_) and the fact that we had 32 angels on board. I had hoped that we wouldn't spawn any new religious cults that way. However, without the support of the current government they weren't about to give us any slack or let us keep the _Sovereign_ class cruiser. Such a large vessel was too valuable as a study ship for building larger vessels. Maybe I should have sold it to the Caitians.


	21. Ride Captain Ride

**21: RIDE CAPTAIN RIDE**

After we arrived at New Psychonia, we entered the gray area of status and negotiations. They planet had become the head of The New Psychonian Alliance, a loose federation of many of the former Rim Worlds, as well as a few others. The main shipyards were those of New Moria, and Wa-Lu, both were capable of building top of the line vessels, in this case generation 9 ships. The remains of Calamain were under the influence of Tallamatrix, as were a few of the other Rim Worlds. Caractacalla was no longer the seat of power, but it was an important satellite state of the NPA. The authority that leant us our ranks and ability to command ships was long a historical point as the Rim Worlds Confederacy disintegrated in the 33th century and it wasn't until the rise of the New Psychonian Alliance in the 36th century that new progress was made. In the last 300 years they had regained the former glory of the Rim Worlds and the Federation (mostly) and became a stable force in this part of the galaxy. In part it was an act of self-preservation, as the Dorcon Empire, as it was called after the 35th century had found out about New Psychonia and started a campaign of invasion for those precious brainstems that the Psychons possessed.

I at least negotiated some back pay for my crewmembers. But that had a brand new drawback. With that much money much of the crew decided to return to New Psychonia and enter semi-retirement. The rift-runners were officially disbanded 1200 years after they were formed. When all was said and done, there were the 32 angels, their bonded companions, all 19 of them, as well as a few die-hards. There was Nergat, K'tee and family, Ellen and Dwayne, Maya and Tony, Marie and Brent. The two "children", Newt and Parna, both almost grown up, would stick with their extended family. Parna would became a bonded 'angel companion' with Caladea! There were a total of 73 people, angels, humans and others, who met up to become the new crew under the "Boros" flag.

That meant that we needed a new ship. I had also negotiated ownership of the runabouts and shuttles of the _Sovereign_ class cruiser. I was now the proud owner of two _Danube_ class runabouts, one with the photon torpedo package, and one in stock configuration. I also owned a collection of shuttlecraft, both impulse and warp powered. But the big score was still hidden in the outer reaches of the system.

It was time to collect on my insurance policy. I took out one of the runabouts into the outer solar system, where Psyche's Kuiper belt was. I then sent out a particular ping, and got a reply within a few hours. The old shuttle responded! A few hours later, I was flying in formation with an old S-4 shuttle that I had sent out over two millennia ago. On board was a stash of vodka, well frozen, and a big load of latinum, still the currency of choice between advanced civilizations. I was still an extremely rich individual!

* * *

I was looking over ship schematics when Razia entered our quarters on board the shipyards, where I booked rooms for the 70 or so crew and angels who decided to stick together. On the main viewer, was a familiar ship design, as we were intercepted by 4 of them. The class was the _Courageous_ class, a light cruiser class, about the same size as the original _Faraway Quest_. In this case it would have a generation-7 warp drive, as that was the maximum allowed to civilian ship owners, as that was my current classification. The interior was drastically modified, with as much automation as was possible, and the entire fore section had extra wide and tall decks so the angels could coast down the corridors under winged flight when they chose.

As soon as Razia saw the schematics of my design, she gave me a hug. "Thank you for considering the angel's needs as you build a new ship."

"Oh, come on. How could I ever forget your love of flight? I toured the first _Parhelion_ remember? But we need to discuss the role of us mortals in your Boros Legion..."

"I have a solution, which I think you will like. I have created a new rank in the Boros Legion. I still am the Parun and Head of the Guild, you know." I nodded at that. "But there is now an embedded rank of mortals within the angelic eschelon. You can call yourselves either 'starship crew' or 'angels companions', depending on your point of view. I hope my guild mages don't take too much offence. If they do, I'll have to straighten them out myself!" Razia stated. She gave me a reassuring hug. "If you had not come for us the Boros angels would be practically extinct. Szadek would have won. Thanks to you, he didn't, completely."

"Good. I had just made it back. If only I could save Anezka..."

"Anezka was killed before you could arrive, my love. You are only human, and are NOT omnipotent. The fact that you came for us and saved whom you could is a testament to your love. Sometimes you can't save everyone, even if you want to." Razia was embracing me and not letting me feel sorry for myself. She wouldn't put up with that, and made sure I didn't succumb to that sort of depression.

* * *

We (Razia and I) had decided to send an emissary to Ravnica, with the news that the angels of Boros were not as extinct as many would think they were. The emissaries that were chosen were Edana and Allan. They had command of one of the runabouts, the _Edison_, with the photon pack. As soon as they were ordered to find Ravnica, they were off. It was a few weeks until we heard from them, and the message was as follows. "Original rift to Ravnica lost, returning to planet with Iconian building to find new portal."

Some weeks later, as the _Parhelion II_ was under construction at the new Moria shipyards, the passing by runabout sent the following message: "New and _stable_ rift to Ravnica found at cords, XYZ, proceeding to Ravnica and Sunhome, with dispaches. Although the coordinates were encoded, it would only be a matter of time before everybody knew a stable rift existed. Thus the messengers to Ravnica were underway. Edana and Allan would find the new rift and send the message of the survival of some of the Ravnican angels. We would be following "shortly" thereafter, when the _Parhelion II_ was built. But there was a new wrinkle. As the rift to Ravnica was now stable, it would mean trade between the mana-verse and the larger universe I called home. We bid goodbye to Edana and Allan before they entered the rift, and hopefully would be joining them soon.

* * *

Feather was in her Guild master's office when the guildmage entered and disturbed her train of thought.

"I'm sorry to intrude, but there is an object approaching Sunhome." The guildmage told Feather. As the last surviving Boros angel, Feather was in control of the Legion and the newly reconstructed fortress. So the runabout coming to land on the flat top of Sunhome was something new. And it was _fast_! The object came to land where the _Parhelion_ used to dock but then came a surprise.

Feather was on the upper deck of Sunhome, with half a dozen guildmages, in order to greet whomever the strange ship had delivered. Much to her surprise, a human left the ship, and then turned to lend a hand to ... an angel. This angel had red feathers in her plumage.

"Edana?" Feather inquired.

"Yes Pierakor, it's me," the Firemane angel replied. "This is Allan Carter, my consort. Razia sends her greetings."

"Razia..."

"Still lives," the Firemane angel repied. "It's a long story, which began before you were incarnated." Edana told Feather. "When Razia was young, under 5000 years old, she was yanked into a mana-less universe by a planeswalker, who abandoned her there. A human came along and rescued her, returning her to Ravnica. Somehow that same human came back and yanked both Razia and myself out of the clutches of Szadek along with 29 others. Thus you are no longer alone as there are a few Boros angels left.'

"The ship you arrived in?" Feather inquired.

"Is called a 'runabout'," Edana replied. "It is a miniature starship, which belongs to Stephen Michael. There is a name which you should remember, for he is the original human who returned Razia to this plane the first time, and who came back to save her and us from the clutches of Szadek." Edana explained.

"So where is Stephen and Razia?" Feather asked.

"They are awaiting the construction of _Parhelion II_. When they appear you will find a few new changes. Apparently Razia has held a life-link with Stephen for over 7 millennia, and during that time they were responsible for rescuing another angel from 'Bant'. That angel, Sara, allowed Stephen to rescue Razia even after Szadek had impaled her. The last I saw was the look on Szadek's face when Razia was 'beamed' aboard Stephen's ship, just before I was rescued the same way. We were treated by his crew, and 31 of us survived."

"Just the 31?" At least it was better than zero.

"That's what Stephen said when he found out." Edana looked like she felt my original anguish at hearing that number. "I don't think he expected the spirits to be that effective at making us extinct."

"I definitely want to meet this Stephen, when he shows up with her holiest..." Feather concluded.

"As soon as he has the _Parhelion II_ built they will arrive. There is another angel you need to meet, Sarassa, of Bant – Sara for short. She had provided the life-link that saved Razia. There is more to that story but I don't know all the details."

Allan was particularly silent through this exchange. Then Edana, who was holding hands with Feather, brought Allan into the embrace and stated, "This is Allan Carter, my consort. He is a special mortal. I have life-linked with him, as Razia has life-linked with Stephen. Razia has made a new rank within the angelic eschelon that includes those humans who are life-linked with the angels. Allan is the first one to end up here, formally called 'starship crew', they are to be treated as an angelic eschelon, as they will be living and traveling with the angels of Boros..."

"Traveling?" Feather asked.

"Yes traveling. Stephen is building the _Parhelion II_ as a fully-fledged starship, a ship that can explore the multiverse, and beyond." Edana explained. "There is a new rift to Ravnica, the one we passed through. This portal is stable and will allow trade with the huge mana-less universe that Stephen and Allan originate from. If others come through the rift, then there is a possibility of trade, which the Boros should be at the forefront of, unless you want the Orzhov to take the lead in extra-dimensional trade."

Even though Feather had a few good relationships with the Orzhov syndicate, she didn't want them to be getting all the new trade with the huge mana-less universe.

* * *

It was a few months later when the new starship entered Ravnican space, and headed towards Sunhome. The _Parhelion II_ had left known space with a crew of angels and their companions. _73 men sailed up, from the San Francisco Bay_ ... Actually there were only 71 on board, as Edana and Allen were already on Ravnica.

Feather was waiting at the base of the huge star ship that had landed on top of Sunhome. The first being off the starship was Razia, whom Feather bowed down to.

"Feather," Razia started with, "Please rise,"

Feather rose and met Razia eye to eye. "Things have changed since my absence. I have realized that thinking more like a mortal may be the saving grace that we angels need. Meet Stephen Michael, a mortal."

I was sporting my new white and red uniform, with the Boros crest and Fleet Captains' bars. I gave Feather a hug, a very mortal hug. Like Pense and Caladea, Feather was reluctant to let go. Having Razia back seemed to have that effect on her daughters.

* * *

Although most missed the arrival of the runabout, the landing of _Parhelion II_ brought out all the reporters of Rav's central district. The starship, though smaller than the original _Parhelion_, was still a large and noticeable ship. Its unique design and shape as it flew over the city, its rumble of the thrusters meant that anyone nearby who wasn't deaf heard it fly past. The ship exuded power, for well it should.

* * *

A guildmage came upon the roof of Sunhome, and addressed the angels there. There were reporters at the gates, clamoring for information about the ship and whether there were angels back on Ravnica. Razia sighed, and explained to the guildmage the new rank structure, and the mortals who were now part of the angelic eschelon. The guildmage took it well, and then took Razia's instructions on how to deal with the reporters. Basically the official word is that yes, there were angels back on Ravnica, and a press release will be made later, after a consult with the Grand Arbiter.

Feather, which to her relief, Razia now accepted as her name, was still considered to be guild master of the Boros legion. Edana and Allan had become the defacto heads of the League of Wojeks, and the runabout was currently parked on the roof of Centerfort. Edana had set up an office there like Feather's in Sunhome. She and Allan were going over the latest cases in central planning concerning the 'police' of this planet. The runabout was a fully-fledged miniature starship with weapons as well as shields, and Edana planned on using it as a backup to any really difficult policing mission. With the events of late, she wasn't taking any chances. Nobody blamed her for her caution, as being the last Firemane angel seemed to have tempered her fanaticism.

The next being off of the _Parhelion II_ was Sara, the two-winged angel from Bant. Feather greeted her with the import of a VIP for in Feather's eyes she was. Then Feather noticed that I was the conduit between the two angels, and their lover. "Don't ask, it's a long story," I stated. Feather seemed to understand, but she did regard me with some skepticism.

Then Razia said, "Do you doubt my history?"

"No. Of course not," Feather replied.

"Then believe in Stephen! When you travel with us to the large, mana-less universe, you will be in awe of the mortals there and their technology."

'I will travel?" Feather questioned.

"Yes. Welcome back to the host. I did appreciate your effort to save me from Szadek, but somewhere, in the back of my mind, I did remember, and sent you so that someone from our eschelon would make it out to be emissary to the mortals of our Boros Legion. I may be over 12 thousand years old, but my memory is as good as it was millennia ago."

"Twelve thousand?" I interjected.

"You didn't know did you?" We celebrated the 10 thousandth year if the Guildpact, just before it disintegrated."

I hugged Razia. "You still don't look a day over 30. In fact none of your daughters do either..."

"You're taken, remember," Razia told me.

"Twice. I'm going to be busy enough, as I've told Pense and Caladea. Sometimes you need to step back and relax. I came back for YOU, remember. It's been 7 millennia for you but about a decade for me."

"So when do I lose you..." Razia seemed to ask.

"I don't know. According to Toki, I'm aging much slower than a normal human. The only reason that's happening is from my life-link with the two of you. You get me for a little longer, I'm afraid."

Razia just hugged me. We embraced in silence for some time. "If only you were timeless ... "

"Well, I am unstuck in time..."

"That doesn't count!" Razia exclaimed. "I don't want to wait millennia until you show up again! I'm done with that! With recent events I want you here and now! Forever!"

"I really appreciate that! I do! But ... I don't know what the future brings. I really don't."

"That's OK. I will love you forever, just in case you live forever." Razia finally responded. Feather finally relaxed, as she rejoined her extended family. Seeing her guild master acting that way was just what Feather needed.

* * *

After exploring this vast citified planet, I ended up spending time at Pivlic's rebuilt tavern. It was ironically, an Orzhov imp's bar where the angels would be hanging out with the mortals. Apparently, in the 6-month trip to our universe, with passing through unstable rifts, 14 more years had passed here in Ravnica, but at least the new rift was stable.

Feather and Kos would meet here regularly, and so it became my hangout as well. I had purchased Kos' property here, and built a new house. Well, not actually. It looked like a house, but it wasn't. Fabricated on board the _Parhelion II_, it was actually a small house shaped starship. I wasn't taking chances either. This evening I was alone at the bar, and was about to leave when a stranger approached me.

"I have a gift for you, for the angel. Thank you." With that he left a box on the bar, and walked out of the tavern.

"Beware of strangers bearing gifts," Pivlic warned.

"Whatever happened to 'don't look a gift horse in the mouth'?" I sarcastically replied.

"Around here that could get you killed," was Pivlic's reply.

"Good point," I concluded. I picked up the box and walked home. I set it down just outside the shield barrier, went in and got my tricorder, my good old trusty original style tricorder with Section-31 enhancements. I scanned the box and it's contents. Then I took the box and beamed over to the _Parhelion II_. I was in my quarters with the item from the box. I hit the intercom button. "Bridge, I need you to take the ship up."

Sara was on the bridge. "Where are we headed?"

"To the primary. 0.1 AU distance please."

"Why are we going there?"

"There's something in our quarters that you need to see," I concluded just as Razia walked in. She found me at my desk. On it was my tricorder and a crown. The crown had a large red ruby in the center, and a pair of horns. That wasn't the troubling part. It was the energy spectrum the crown produced.

"What is that?" Razia asked.

"A crown of some sort. A stranger gave it to me at Pivlic's," I replied.

"Beware of strangers bearing gifts."

"That's what Pivlic told me," I replied. "And I wasn't born yesterday. That's what this is for." I held up the tricorder. "Unfortunately I recognize this spectrum. You felt the pain the last time I saw it. So did Sara."

At that point Sara entered and came to a dead stop when she saw the crown. She went pale, recognizing it. "Where did you get that!" Sara almost spat.

"A stranger gave it to me at Pivlic's," I repeated. "You apparently know what it is. I know its spectrum. It's the same as the one surrounding you when I found you."

"_That_ is a horned halo. It is a legend on Bant. It was made by mages or demons to enslave an angel," Sara explained.

"The stranger did say it was for one of you. Is that what the Dragon did to you?" I asked.

"No, Nicol Bolas was more direct, and used a spell. He didn't plan on keeping me around." Sara concluded.

The intercom sounded. "We have arrived at the location you specified," John informed.

"Fine. Orient the ship with the shuttle bay facing the star." I picked up the halo. "Let's go to the shuttle bay," I said. We placed the halo right by the shuttle bay doors and went to the control room. The doors opened and the star filled the bay with intense light. "Who wants to do the honors?" I asked.

Both Sara and Razia pressed the control simultaneously as the atmosphere barrier snapped off and the air whisked the crown towards Ravnica's star. "You know Szadek is still alive and well in the Ghost Quarter. It could have been one of his minions that delivered that to you..."

"With a chance the dumb newbie gives it to Razia. What kind of planet do they think I'm from?"

"All they know is from our press release. You are just a nice guy who just happened along and saved a few angels," Razia concluded.

"Well speaking about being a nice guy," I commented as we returned to the shuttle bay from the control room. "Check these babies out." I was pointing to three altered type-15 shuttlepods. They had massive scanner and communications equipment appended to them.

"What are these for?" Razia asked.

"They will be going into geostationary orbit around Ravnica. They are the complete communications and spy satellite package. This will give your Battlemages total control of battlefield intelligence, and communications. It's time we take your kick-ass legion and make it totally super kick-ass," I stated proudly.

"Edana now takes a phaser rifle with grenade launcher into battle with her sword and spells. Just in case something fails," Razia mentioned.

"So would I," Sara interjected. "Hanging around Stephen and you do start to think like a mortal. Personally I think we might last a little longer that way." Sara gave me a hug. "Especially if we are going to be more involved with the affairs of mortals."

"Well, it is _YOUR_ legion, after all," I reminded Razia. That got me another double angel hug.


	22. Stepping Out

**22: STEPPING OUT**

An angels' night out at Pivlic's. It was early as some of the regulars probably would be nervous about our presence, even if we were keeping to ourselves. Feather, Razia, Sara, and I were waiting for Kos, and some dinner. Just as we were being served another stranger made a 'grand' entrance into Pivlic's. Both Feather and Razia froze at the sight of the stranger – they definitely recognized him, and possibly the danger he represented. I could feel the tangible hatred coming from both of them. Razia had put a hand on her sword hilt.

I leaned back in my chair. There was a phaser in my left hand, the targeting laser pointed squarely at the stranger's chest. Even the angels were impressed by my fast draw. That left hand phaser is now left on disintegrate-3. It would leave a smoldering crater where the stranger stood if I pulled the trigger.

"I'm not here to fight you," the stranger said.

"Circu," Razia hissed. "Then why are you here?"

"To deliver this." Circu handed Razia an envelope. Then he left.

"Should I have shot him?" I asked.

"No, that would have been pointless but satisfying, I'll have to admit." Razia went on, "unfortunately Circu is just Szadek's messenger boy."

"So Ravnica has a 'don't shoot the messenger clause'?" I asked.

"Basically." Both Razia and Feather responded simultaneously.

I pulled out my tricorder and scanned the envelope. It consisted of paper, glue and ink.

"You really are that paranoid," Feather asked.

"Just thinkin' like a mortal," I explained.

"No wonder Razia loves you," she concluded. Razia almost burst out laughing.

Razia read the message and frowned.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Szadek has just challenged me to a duel," Razia replied.

"A ... duel?" I asked.

"Yes. This is a challenge that I cannot refuse to answer," Razia explained.

"But what is your code duello on Ravnica?" I asked.

"Our what?" Razia was puzzled.

"The code duello is the rule-set that duels are fought out under," I explained. "The challenged and challenger are bound to certain rules of conduct, to make the duel a fair fight."

"I didn't realize that you had such an interesting history," Razia responded. "I don't think we actually have a 'code duello' on Ravnica." _And if Razia didn't know about it, then it probably didn't exist._

I grinned. "Allow me to complicate matters for everybody. A code duello is a set of rules for undergoing a duel. There are a few codes that I am aware of. Dueling was a 'pastime' of humans on my planet."

That brought a chuckle from the angels. "Isn't war in general a pastime for humans?"

"Only due to stupidity," I replied.

"But you're smart, and you engage in war," Sara accused.

"Yes, but I don't go around starting fights. I just finish them, so others don't have to."

"That's almost an angelic calling," Sara stated. "No wonder you are here with us." With that she gave me a kiss. Mana-verse angels were basically warrior spirits incarnated in physical form by (mostly) white mana, and Sara seemed to take any opportunity to give me a smooch.

"But that doesn't solve our original problem, which is to answer Szadek's challenge," I explained. "Let me think about this one for a bit. My devious mind should come up with a solution that keeps Razia alive."

* * *

The next day I was in Feather's office when we received the news sheets. Splashed across the front page was Szadek's challenge to a duel with Razia. Szadek had accused Razia of cowardice, and expected her to refuse the duel.

_Oh, great_, I thought. But I had a few ideas. If nothing else, my ideas guaranteed a fair fight. I said as much to Razia. As she was not one to back down from a fight she agreed to let me speak with the reporters.

I met with a bunch of reporters at the entrance to Sunhome, flanked by two Sunhome enforcers. The 5-meter tall giants towered over the reporters and myself. "I'm here to make Razia's response to Szadek's challenge."

"Who are you?"

"How is Razia..."

"Szadek accused..."

I held up my hand, silencing the questions. "First of all, I am Stephen Michael, angels' companion and Razia's second. Under the _Code Duello_, it is my duty to determine the field of honor, and to help Razia choose the weapons in which the duel is fought."

"Code Duello?"

"Second?"

Obviously these people didn't have a dueling code, so I exploited that ruthlessly. "Obviously you haven't seen that many duels here. Let me explain. Duels are fought under the _Code Duello_, the rules that govern duels. Like the _guild-pact_, the _Code Duello_ has a precise list of requirements for a proper duel to take place. First, the location of the duel, called the field of honor, must be chosen, such that neither side has an advantage in the duel. Second the challenged, in this case Razia, has the choice of weapons and the manner of which the duel is fought."

"Can you explain this 'manner' of the fight?" One reporter asked.

"Sure. A duel is all about honor. Thus a fight is not actually necessary, as long as honor is satisfied. First all non-combative efforts must been exhausted under the _Code Duello_. As the differences between these parties are irreconcilable, a duel must be fought. Now such a duel is rarely to the death!" That seemed to shock some of the reporters. "Let me explain. Most duels under the _Code Duello_, are fights until the last person is standing. That could mean that the combat is only until first blood. That would satisfy the _Code Duello_. However, depending on the weapons chosen by the challenged, the fight would last until one of the combatants simply could not respond to the other, being disabled, or killed, by the damage of the weapons used."

"Now both parties must have seconds, and the challenger's second is usually the messenger that brought the challenge, in this case Circu. It is my job to arrange with Szadek's second how the duel unfolds. The duelists do not meet until they are on the field of honor. It is solely the challenged's decision on the weapons and manner of the fight. My job, with Szadek's second, is to make sure that the fight is fair, and that all parties have a equal share of risk in the duel."

"How do you do that?" a reporter asked.

"Simple. I disallow magic to be used so this is a contest of skill. Thus the field of honor must be in my mana-less universe. In fact It will be the planet that houses the Iconian building, in the Milky Way Galaxy, at coordinates, 166, -205, 84. Ground combat would be in the fields outside the Iconian building, while aerial combat would be within the system's hyper wall." If in doubt use the old adage, bullshit baffles brains. "Secondly the Azorius will be asked to provide witnesses to the Duel, to make sure the rules are followed by both parties. Szadek may choose to elect and bring other witnesses to the field of honor as well."

The reporters seemed satisfied with that, and sure enough, most of my message was out there with the evening news.

Razia had read the evening news sheets. "Mana-less universe huh?" Razia asked.

"Of course, you would have all the advantages, while Szadek would have none. Our life-link works in my universe, as you know. Sara spent a couple of hours in total vacuum during a Sidon attack while she waited for pick-up."

"So, you are _cheating_..."

"I wouldn't put it that way. Was Szadek cheating when he took out the first _Parhelion_?"

"If you put it that way, no," Razia concluded.

"My job, regardless of what I say it is, is to keep myself and my angels alive. Everything else comes second to that. If I have to lie, cheat, steal, kill, whatever, that's what I'll do. I'm human. I don't have a specific color. Although I'm mostly white and red, I'll do what I have to, to keep what is mine." I concluded.

"So what other color are you?" Razia asked changing the subject. She knew that as far as she and Sara were concerned I would do anything, but just how far I would go...

"Green, if I had to choose. These five colors of mana... The only other guild on this planet that really appeals to me is the Selesnyan Conclave. Although the Izzet has a certain appeal..."

"The Izzet appeals to the engineer in you, nothing else. And the life churchers, as they are known, are the friendliest guild to the Boros, but since you are taken, the elves and dryads wont appeal that much to you. At least the Boros has angels..." Razia winked at me. I just hugged her. There was this penchant on Ravnica for humans to find any sentient species attractive. I was a lover to two angels!

* * *

Unfortunately the duel had set up the two sides of the conflict. To meet with Szadek's second meant going into the Ghost Quarter, and entering a Dimir safe hold. I wasn't looking forward to that. I had company. Feather, and Kos joined me in this trip. We reached the gothic mansion, and knocked on the door. A lowly servant ushered us in. We were led to a giant study hall, where Circu was waiting, with Szadek.

"I shouldn't be meeting with your duelist before meeting on the field of honor," I announced.

"I think due to the circumstance of this duel, that you can waive that rule," Szadek replied.

"Well ... You don't seem to have your own Code Duello, which is strange for such a civic society as Ravnica."

"So what is this code duello that you speak about?" Szadek demanded.

"The Code Duello that I'm using is the Code Duello from Ireland circa 1777 A.D. Earth Calendar. There are 26 rules in it, which many won't apply to this particular duel."

"Why not?" Circu asked, this time.

"Here is a copy of that Code Duello." I said, handing a sheet written in English to Circu. He used a spell to read the code.

"If you note, rules 1, 2, 4, and 5 are already irreconcilable, thus the duel must take place. Since you and I, Circu, won't agree, rule 3 is also out, as is 6 and 7. Since Szadek already published his challenge, rule 8 is already met. 9 and 10 don't count either. They simply don't apply to this case. As Razia is not a human woman, rule 11 doesn't apply either. Since both Razia and Szadek are not humans all the rules about dueling pistols don't apply either, as I believe that they won't have an effect on either party. Rules 12, 17, 18, 19, 21, 23, and 25 don't apply, unless Circu and I disagree to such a degree that we decide to trade shots ourselves. I _d_o have a pair of dueling pistols for just that purpose."

"You and Circu as seconds can duel it out?" Szadek wondered.

"Yes. That's rule 24. As we are both human and guilded we count as equals under rule 13," I replied. "The big rules that count are rules 15 and 16. Rule 15 states that the challenged can choose the weapons and thus the manner of the fight. Only if you swear you are not a swordsman, can you refuse the sword as a weapon. Since Razia has chosen warp powered fighter shuttles, rule 15 is done. The next two identical fighters off the New Moria shipyards line is going to be the weapons that both you and Razia are going to use. Thus both are going to fight in aerial combat. Rule 16 stated that the challenged could choose the field of honor, which we already did. Since you are the challenger you can determine the range that the duel will commence at, as we do not know yet of the ship specifications as yet, you can choose the range that the fight starts at, when we get them. Ship schematics, as well as holodeck training software will be available as soon as we know what fighter type the two of you will be using. You are also responsible for gaining passage to the planet in question." I concluded.

"I have already arranged transport to the planet you have specified," Szadek concluded. "I would like you to meet someone whom you are already familiar with..." With that, another person entered the room, a Romulan.

"Commander Relar..." I trailed off.

"Long time no see. I followed you through that rift, you know. But before I could strike that warlord's fleet took out your precious _Faraway Quest_. So I simply had to bide my time as I followed you to this place. You know, I like it here. As the Romulan Star Empire rebuilds, our ties with Ravnica will simply grow stronger."

It took every ounce of self-control not to draw my phasers and shoot him regardless of the consequences. But our meeting was now over. We were sure the duel would take place, and had a date, which allowed the manufacture and delivery of the two fighters to the planet in question, as well as simulator software for both parties. The three of us left the house, alive at least.

"You have dueling pistols?" Feather asked.

"No, but I have a fabricator and a pattern on the _Parhelion II_. I will have a nice pair by the time we meet on the field of honor," I replied.

* * *

When I returned to Sunhome I immediately called an archmage to attend me. "Sent this message out to the closest garrison to both the North magnetic pole, and the south magnetic pole." I gave specific instructions so that the scrying agents would be able to find my quarry. When called on why I ordered that inquiry, I informed the Boros guildmages that 'Razia's survival depends on it' and they immediately went into high gear, looking for me. The guildmages, had already lost Razia once, and didn't want to lose her again.

I had my data. Apparently, Relar had been rescued by the Romulans and had been given another V-7 '_White Wind'_ class light cruiser. It would start out as a stock gen-5 light cruiser. But apparently, it had some later tech, as she was equipped with a holodeck, as was the _Parhelion II_. Both Szadek and Razia could train on their holodeck simulators for the fighter type that they would use for the duel. It turned out that the ships would be "snub-fighters", armed type-9 shuttles. Each would have a FH-1 internally, and a pair of photon missiles, on external pylons, there even was a stock type-9 shuttle on the _Parhelion II_ so that Razia could train on the real ship.

* * *

The _Parhelion II_ was back in the mana-less universe, in orbit over the planet with the Iconian buildings. A runabout was headed for the surface of the planet: Southern hemisphere, outside the Iconian building. The runabout landed in the precise location to beam into that building. That wasn't the point as of yet. There were delivered two type-9 snub fighters, equally armed. Szadek and Circu decided to beam down to the planet from the Romulan ship. Circu was carrying a staff, while Szadeck appeared to be unarmed. "You may inspect the fighters," I informed Circu. He did and eventually was satisfied that both fighters were identical as far as he could determine. He informed Szadeck of that fact. I had accompanied Razia out of the runabout, and after Szadek picked his fighter, Razia boarded the other. She said nothing as she waited for the command to start this fight. The grand arbiter, Leonios II, was onboard the _Parhelion II_ as a witness. One of his minions was on the planet with us. It seemed that Szadek didn't require extra witnesses. Both fighters lifted off and left the planet behind. The duel had started.

It wasn't long after that Circu decided to address me, as seconds. "You know, Razia only survived Szadek's previous attack because you are life-linked with her. If that didn't occur, she would be dead, which, of course is Szadek's only plan here. Since you are the life link..."

When Circu turned around, the staff held a warhead. I recognized a fully assembled bam-stick. My hand dropped to my hip to the phaser that wasn't there. Then he shot me with it. And the Azorius had the dueling pistols, still sealed in their case. Circu walked over, and to his surprise, I was still alive. He prepared to shoot me again, when I said, "Do you think that I alone could provide Razia with the life force she needed to survive?"

"What do you mean?"

"Think about it. Razia is way tougher than a human. How would I be able to keep her alive? How is it that I'm still alive now?"

Circu was puzzled. Then he realized that I must be life-linked to another. He drew his sword. "Whom are you also life-linked to?"

"Me." Answered Sara as she left the runabout. SNAP. She twisted Circu's head around so that the last thing he saw was her face. Unfortunately for him the twist was so fast his body was left behind, so the hideous snapping sound was his neck breaking. She let go and his dead body dropped to the ground. Sara helped me up and we boarded the runabout with the Azorius agent as witness, after he had finished with his flinching and retching at the carnage he witnessed.

* * *

We lifted off from the planet's surface with the Iconian building emitting light gravity waves of a certain frequency. We headed into space and saw the duel unfolding. When I took the hit, Razia put her shuttle into a light spin. Szadeck assumed his minion had won so he closed on the helpless fighter. As soon as Szadek was in range, Razia straightened out, lined him up and fired both missiles. Szadek returned fire with his missiles. He was the first to go, as Razia was on target. She evaded Szadek's first missile, but the second she couldn't avoid. She ejected just before the missile hit.

We were on her coordinates immediately. As soon as we had a lock, we beamed her out of the escape pod, just before the Romulan de-cloaked and destroyed the pod. _That Bastard_! But that was not unexpected, as the gravity waves that Sara programmed into the Iconian building negated the Romulan cloaking device. The _Parhelion II_ planted a full phaser spread into Relar's ship, and he decided to be elsewhere, possibly abandoning his Ravnican ally. There was no sign of Szadek.

Razia just hugged me after she was beamed aboard the runabout. "You know Szadeck will probably be back like a bad smell," I stated.

"But the Azorius had witnessed that Circu cheated on the field of honor," Sara replied.

"What! How typically Dimir," Razia answered. "What happened?"

"The staff was part of a disassembled bam-stick. He shot Stephen with it," Sara answered.

"So that's what I felt," Razia concluded.

"Then I broke his neck."

"That's an understatement! I thought his head would pop right off! When you angels want someone dead, they're dead," I interjected. "That should make the news sheets when we get back. It effectively also means that if Szadek shows up again you can refuse to have another duel with him, as his second acted dishonorably on the field of honor. He just will have to try and kill you the old-fashioned way."

Razia looked at me to see if I was being serious. Unfortunately I was. "I know you don't like it when I think that way, but nobody gets one of my angels, _nobody_." Razia just hugged me tighter.

"That's why I had the angels bond with your crew ..." Razia admitted. "Our inability to lie puts us at a disadvantage, which you can overcome for us."

"That's what I'm here for. I know that Sara is white, and you are white and red. That makes both of you incapable of lying, but telegraphing your every move is just not kosher! I know that's how your legion operates, but sometimes you need subtlety. If us humans and others that are bonded with you angels ... "

"You are licensed to do the lying for us!" Razia responded.

"Since you can't..." I replied.

"Just remember what the Boros stands for," Razia explained. "As long as that is respected, you can do whatever and the legion will follow suit. I am quite willing to entertain new ideas as long as it fits my red / white dichotomy."

"Come on. I love you! If I step outside your Legions' codes just let me know, and I will conform!," I responded. "I am mostly white, then red, then green, in that order. And I have been in a chain of command for much of my life." The angels sensed this and put up with my idiosyncrasies, since they're only alive now because of my multicolored approach. It's that ability of us humans that allowed the angels to survive in the first place.

"And you humans ability to find any sentient race attractive..." Razia shook her head, "Even in your own mana-less universe."

"Hey! You came to me, remember!"

"But it was _your dreams_ that brought me to you!" Razia stated.

"That was ... what, 7 millennia ago?"

"It still doesn't matter! What about Sara!"

"That means I win!" I concluded. "I got _two_ angels out of the deal!"

It was the first time both Razia and Sara concluded that I was the link that kept us whole. I just wanted to point out that I would do whatever it took to keep my angels alive, and both of them appreciated that. The evenings' activities were really tiring and really loving.


	23. As the Rush Comes

**23: AS THE RUSH COMES**

It was a quiet night in Pivlic's tavern. The angels were elsewhere and I was not yet called upon to actually do anything, so I was at the bar. The local drink was called bumbat, and it wasn't too dissimilar to Earth beer. A bit like mead, it was not oversweet. It had a pretty good kick to it too. But it wasn't quite as powerful as the kick that knocked me out of my seat, and on to the ground. That kick had no apparent cause but it left me feeling like I was on fire! I quickly opened my jacket to find I had no physical damage. _Oh great_. Something happened to Razia or Sara. Then my communicator beeped.

"Tell me the bad news," I started with.

"It's Edana. I'm down in the Sedleck Reclamation zone. I have a whole legion pinned down by a sniper with a phaser rifle. Razia took a hit. She's, uh, down."

"I'm not that down," I heard Razia say in the background. I was finally becoming able to tell their similar voices apart.

"Whoever has got you pinned down is using a high powered disrupter, especially if he's out-ranging your Mark-42."

"A disruptor?" Edana wasn't familiar with the subtle difference between the two.

"Trust me, I've been shot with both," I replied.

"I still need some fire support. There is _somebody_ with _your_ tech weaponry in there. I want you to take out my runabout..."

"_Your runabout_!" I exclaimed.

"OK it's still your runabout," Edana acquiesced. "But I need some heavy weapons on site..."

"I'll be there in a jiffy," I replied. I called up the _Parhelion II_ and ordered a beam up. I was bringing the cavalry in this case.

When I beamed aboard, Sara was waiting for me. She felt the hit at the same time that I did. We brought the ship to the Sedleck Reclamation zone. Edana didn't expect the _Parhelion II_ to show up. Then again, I had read the 100 rules for an evil overlord.

_Rule#40: I will be neither chivalrous nor sporting. If I have an unstoppable superweapon, I will use it as early and as often as possible instead of keeping it in reserve_.

Couple that with my favourite motto: If you want it dead, lob a torpedo, and then you know why I took out the _Parhelion II_. I had sat in the tactical seat and was programming the shields for a special configuration. It was an opened-backed paraboloid that intersected the ground, and protected the troops on the ground as well as the ship. "Sara, ready a torpedo, full compression," I ordered.

"Won't the energy get out anyway in the atmosphere?" Sara asked.

"Yes, but there seems to be a shielded target in there, otherwise Edana would have gotten it." I then ordered K'tee to get a hold of Edana, or Razia. "Get everyone down there to keep their heads down. I'm lobbing a torpedo!"

I heard over the speaker Edana ordering the Ordruun the procedure for avoiding a nuclear blast just as I signed off: "Firing in 5... 4... 3... 2... 1..."

The ship fired a torpedo at a target essentially at point blank range. The initial compression field held in the energy so it could attack a hardened target, then the laws of physics turned the energy into a 65-megaton nuclear style blast. Although Razia's own magic could create a blast of nearly a kiloton, nobody saw this kind of firepower on Ravnica before. Razia, Edana, and the Ordruun troops were protected from the blast by the starship's shields, as long as they didn't look directly at it. Hunkered down and facing away from the blast the Legion was ready to advance as soon as the mushroom cloud rose into the sky, but there was another complication. The fireball engulfed an invisible ship hovering over the area – a Romulan vessel. And this one was new. As in an advanced design that I have never encountered before. Just the look of it said technology at the level of the _Parhelion II_ or beyond! That star ship was probably not expecting me to be so brazen as to fire a photon torpedo at a ground target, so it was caught out unexpectedly. She decloaked and reconfigured her shields to resist the blast, allowing us a good look at her.

K'tee then announced, "we are being hailed!"

"On screen."

Relar's face filled the view screen. "Just what the hell are you doing!" He exclaimed.

"Frankly that's none of your business! Besides, did you lose another White wind?"

"Well, that's none of your business!" Relar responded with.

"Then don't skulk around and you won't get caught in the Legion's business," I replied. "If you think it's too hot then get out of the kitchen!" I gave K'tee the sign of slicing my throat, and she cut off the signal. "We need a bigger boat."

"Is that a reference from that shark movie?" K'tee asked.

"Yes it is," was my answer.

"What shark movie?" Sara asked.

"All this time and you never shown Sara Jaws?" K'tee asked.

"Way too many movies from my past," I replied.

"What movies?" Razia asked as she entered the bridge. "And is that the same Romulan-"

"Yes!" Almost everyone on the bridge replied, simultaneously.

"There's worse," Razia continued. "Apparently that was Szadek with the disruptor."

"You've got to be fucking kidding," I replied.

"John Carpenter's 'The Thing'" Razia answered. "Where the head sprouts legs and tries to escape."

"You and your eidetic memory." Razia has seen some of my movie collection, and she would remember every scene, even after 7 millennia. "If Szadeck and his house are being supplied by the Romulans then we have a new threat on Ravnica," I concluded. "Sara, please return us to Sunhome."

"Not a problem," was Sara's reply.

"And just what are you going to do?" Razia accused.

"Make a few phone calls and bring this ship up to proper specs. The Romulans are supplying the Dimir, and Relar is currently getting the best that the Romulans have. We might need some help on this one."

"The Legion does _not_ need help..." Razia saw the look on my face and trailed off. "... Right. Just like the last trap Szadeck set for us..." I nodded. "... OK, you win. I will take your mortal's advice again." Razia had reigned in her anger and acquiesced to my 'devious protector' mode.

"On the matter of Romulans or other aliens, just take my crew's expertise, please," I mentioned. Razia gave me a hug anyways. "Besides Szadeck probably expected to take you out with that disruptor."

"I felt like it was trying to rip me apart."

"Interesting. Our double life-link can block a disruptor on disintegrate. Let's not test that in my mana-less universe though," I warned. "And I was right Szadeck is going to try to take you out the old-fashioned way."

Just then Feather entered the bridge and saw the rising mushroom cloud she said, "Wow! That's a bigger blast than the _Parhelion_."

"The _Parhelion_?" Both Razia and myself asked.

"Yes, Kos rigged the engines on the _Parhelion_ to explode, and that's what damaged Sunhome. It didn't just crash," Feather explained.

"So, you have had a megaton explosion on Ravnica before," I concluded.

"Yes, but not by a ship which could fire and take such shots and survive. This will say the legion is, what's your phrase - 'kick-ass' to a whole new level!" Feather exclaimed. Of all the angels, only Sara has been through several starship combats, and knows just what a starship can do.

* * *

We had an appointment, in about two month's time, at the shipyards of Wa-Lu. Until then, I was meeting with Kos in the ghost quarter, to keep tabs on Szadeck, and house Dimir. The trip for one of those meetings was rather disturbing...

We were getting ready to lift ship when I approached Razia with an unusual request: A sample of her DNA. "What is that for?" She asked.

"A clone," I replied.

"But, I have not incarnated any daughters in over 5000 years!" Razia exclaimed. "I don't know if those magics would still work..."

"I'm not looking for a new daughter. Just trust me on this," I replied.

"OK, what are you _NOT_ telling me?" Razia asked.

"I don't want to say in case this doesn't work," I replied.

"All right, I will go along with this," Razia responded. "But I want all the details however this turns out," she ordered.

"Of course," I answered. Now it was time to make a few local calls, to the Azorius, then to the Izzet League, and to the Simic Combine. I was looking for some special equipment, which one or two of those guilds could provide. Besides I had the zino's to pay for it all!

* * *

We were at the shipyards of Wa-Lu, bringing the _Parhelion II_ up to specs. I had lined up a gen-9 warp core, and a heavy phaser cannon, to be installed. The cannon that I had scored was the type 3, fitted originally to the _Galaxy II_ class ships, and much larger than the type 2 normally fitted to the _Courageous_. The warp core was 10% larger than spec, and extra heavy plasma conduit led from it to the phaser cannon. Thus I had a weapon capable of cutting through the best shields out there. Feather enjoyed the trip, whether it was the journey to the mana-less universe, or her integration back into the host, I couldn't tell. All 33 angels were on board, as I didn't want any singleton to be picked off while the rest of us were away.

Our return to Ravnica was uneventful. As we passed over Utvara, we noted a spaceport being built upon the lava flat that the Izzet created. It looked like Teysa has a new business venture. There was already a freighter there, so the location of the rift would soon be common knowledge. I now had to arrange for some Azorius and Izzet guild members to enter Sunhome and the _Parhelion II_ to do some contracted work...

* * *

I was back in the ghost quarter, with a new 'gun' to test. I was back with Kos, but this time after being brought up to speed with respect to the Dimir, I was on the hunt of a different quarry. This required two special devices, one clone, and the computing firepower of a starships' main computer. I had encountered the spirit here once before, and one other time while she was still alive. It didn't take long to find her in the Ravnican night.

"Hold still," I commanded. Whether her keeper would allow that was irrelevant. The 'gun' had an immobilization feature, which was required for the following download and absorption. Kos's job was to make sure the keeper didn't interfere, and he was toting one of our Mark 42 phaser rifles. The process took over 15 minutes, which seemed to be forever. Then I ordered a beam up to the _Parhelion II_. The upload would take even longer, and was done with Toki's supervision. Kos and I entered sickbay, and waited.

The angel on the table finally awoke. "Razia to sickbay," Toki called over the comm.

"I know you," she said, when she saw me. "We've met before."

"Yes, Anezka," I replied. "Do you know what happened to you?"

"I remember Szadeck invading the Parhelion..." Anezka trailed off. "But I'm dead! I couldn't survive the... What did you do?" She asked as she checked out her arms and hands' mobility.

Just then Razia entered the sickbay. It was time to explain. "While Kos and I were patrolling the ghost quarter, I ran into you. The little wave you gave me clued me into who and what you were. Since the Azorius could 'sort of' resurrect Kos, and a modern starships computer had the ability to create a sentient life form, it should be able to store and transfer one, so I decided to try to resurrect you. I needed the Izzet and Azorius to work on a machine to upload a spirit pattern back into a physical body, and modify the ships computer to handle an actual lifeform's spirit. I also had the Simic work with the Izzet to create a capture and download 'gun' which could read out a spirit and transfer it to the ships computer." I turned to Razia, "I needed the clone to upload Anezka's spirit into, if everything worked. I couldn't guarantee the results so I didn't want to get your hopes up."

Razia just embraced me, and then embraced Anezka. I left them to catch up on the last decade. Anezka just had to give me a hug when she was brought up to speed. "There are other angel spirits trapped there! I've seen them!"

"That rat bastard! Killing the angels wasn't enough for him!" Razia exclaimed.

"Apparently not," Sara chimed in. "But we can take him out! Just say the word…" By now most of the angels had entered the sickbay to greet Anezka, but it was getting a little crowded in here.

"That might be beyond our capabilities, I'm afraid," Razia responded.

"Then we need a few more clones," I replied. Razia just held out an arm for the next DNA sample to be taken. Toki obliged.

* * *

Edana entered the sickbay, all confused. "Hold out your arm," I commanded. Puzzled, she extended her arm.

"What is this for?" She asked.

"We need two samples of your DNA," I replied.

"But ... it's identical to Razia's," Edana answered.

"If that's true, then why are your feathers, and irises red?" I queried, as Toki took the samples.

"... I don't know?" Edana started to look worried.

"You have a slight difference as an expression of Razia's red side," I explained. "That shift is what it takes to create a clone with red feathers. What would you think if you were to die, then come back in a body with only white feathers?"

"When I would get over the shock it would be OK ... I see. There would be no shock to get over," Edana concluded. She gave me an embrace. "Thank you again for being so considerate."

"If this works you won't be the last Firemane angel. There will be three of you!" I stated.

"Three?"

"According to Anezka there are two Firemane angel spirits that she knows are trapped by the Dimir. They are on my hit list. And no I don't know their names, sorry," I answered.

"That's OK," Edana replied. "But I want to go with you on your spirit hunts!"

* * *

I felt like I was in an old movie, putting on all this armor and equipment. Gravity boots, body armor (monocrys – a phaser resistant material), personal shield generator, integrated tactical helmet. I also sported a pair of phasers on my hips and had my download gun to carry. Getting the angels ready took some doing. They entered the armory in just their skivvies. As they were capable of flying by themselves we went with armored boots, as well as paneled body armor which we had to carefully fit over their wings.

Allen was fitting out Edana, John Pense, while I was taking care of Anezka and Feather. Kos, Allen, Edana, Feather, Pense and Aznezka all were fitted out. We were going into the ghost quarters on an angel spirit hunt. To my surprise, Parna donned armor, and fitted out Caladea. She had a few surprises for the team. She had built shoulder mounted type-6 phaser cannon, which the angels were strong enough to carry into the field. To give you an idea, a type 6 is broken down into three man portable pieces for humans to carry.

When we entered the ghost quarter, we had the firepower to blast most anything into oblivion, short of a starship. The angels had basically artillery phasers with them, and weren't hesitant to use them. We were on a mission of capture, so we were reluctant to just blast everything into oblivion. This night we encountered two spirits, including one of the Firemane angels. Both were uploaded to the ship. The second keeper tried to interfere, but was blasted by Edana. That keeper won't be reporting back to the Dimir! We decided to call it a night and returned to the ship.

This time two angels awoke on the sickbay beds under Toki's supervision.

Necia awoke, sporting her red plumage, while Erela awoke in a 'regular' body, cloned from Razia.

Edana and Razia were in sickbay when the angels came around. After an initial confusion, both realized the full extent of their journey, and I received a couple of angel strength hugs for my efforts. Razia made sure they didn't break any of my bones...

* * *

The first hunt was successful, and there were still others trapped by the Dimir. By the time Szadeck realized that his keepers were disappearing most of the angel spirits were brought back to life, and the angel contingent nearly doubled. When they realized Razia's orders that they could bond with the humanoids of the starship crew, there was a mini free for all of bonding as the angels realized what that meant.

The next time the angel spirits were rounded up the hunt got a little bloody, and the last few casualties included a few Romulans as they tried to match their skills against angels carrying phaser artillery! Then all of a sudden, there were no more angel spirits to be found. Anezka knew all of the still missing spirits, and the total number of angels that we should have: 88. And the 61 we had included Sara!

It appears that Szadeck had decided to keep the rest of the spirits as personal trophies, for they were not seen outside anywhere in the ghost quarter. A few skirmishes did occur between some Romulans and some wojeks, but the Romulans were not about to take on the entire Legion, and Edana moved her brigade of ordruun troops into the wojek headquarters for Agyrem itself. In order for them to be able to take on spirit beings as well as the Romulans, they were being trained in and issued phasers.

* * *

I was back on the bridge with John and our trio of angels.

"I've got it!" John exclaimed. "Like Sherlock Holmes, we eliminate the impossible."

"You've lost me," Pense replied.

"I think I get it," I replied. "We know what their scanner signatures look like, so we actively scan the entire planet, and by ruling out where they aren't, we at least get to see where they possibly are."

"That's the idea," John replied.

"Pense take sciences, Sara." I waved Sara to the helm. John had moved to the tactical panel and Razia took up the other ops console. Razia is Parun of the Guild, but I'm still the commander of the fleet.

We took the ship up into orbit, and began our scans. We were also keeping an eye out for stray Romulans as well. Itturns out that Relar is keeping his new ship parked on an arctic icefield, and is leaving it uncloaked. In fact it was fully shut down! Without any power a single salvo of torpedoes would take it out. I decided to give it a good scanning, whiIe asked Razia, "Are the Romulans officially our enemies?"

"Not yet. A few skirmishes in Agyrem aren't enough to make them my enemies just yet."

"Fine, we'll leave them alone. Full scans of that ship Pense," I ordered.

"I think they spotted us. They are powering up both their impulse reactors and their structural integrity fields." The scans were on the screen above the sciences console.

"Wow. We are getting complete data on that ship as they power up," I commented.

"What does that mean?" Razia asked.

"That means that we almost have enough data on that ship to make a copy, if we wished," I stated.

"Then save that data for later," Razia ordered. _Was I rubbing off on my straight and narrow Archangel?_ I wondered.

A few hours later we had a complete scan of the entire planet. Our starship's scanners could punch through all but the most sophisticated combinations of mana, as we found out. We might not know what all the secrets on Ravnica was, but we knew where they were they were held!

* * *

We were heading back into Agyrem, the ghost quarter. The pocket dimension had merged with Ravnica, after our departure. The Schism, our rift bomb, and the premature collapse of the rift could have caused the damage to the _Future's Bounty_, as well as causing the collapse to the pocket dimension.

The Dimir at this time had responded to our hunts and the last one was a disaster. Since we left a bridge watch crew, and had an impulse reactor running on standby, no deaths occurred. But with Edana, Pense, and Parna stuck in sickbay, we had a change of plans.

* * *

The new assault team consisted of Razia, Anezka, Caladea, Nergat, Calrea, and myself. Calrea was plucked from the guildmages because she was a cryomancer. Parna and Sara were staying on board, to make sure that Caladea, Razia or myself could take a hit. Anezka was willing to take the risk, while Nergat felt immune to anything the Dimir or Romulans could throw at him. Calrea would do whatever the angels asked of her, so I made sure she wasn't sacrificed too easily.

We were headed to the undercity. Like Sunhome, the Dimir safehold was built upon the bedrock, but most of Ravnica, was built upon older buildings. There was almost as much of the city below street level as there was above it. The undercity was a place of darkness, and the angels stood out like a sore thumb. This was the region for imps, dark elves, vampires, and zombies.

Our descent to the bedrock was mostly uneventful. When a troop of zombies decided to attack, I provided a demonstration of my gun-kata skills. After that incident you could almost hear the response: _if the puny human could do that we better not piss off the angels with those big guns_…

We were travelling light as we reached the bedrock. Now it was Nergat's turn. He would tunnel up to the Dimir stronghold, while Calrea would cool the tunnel so we could quickly follow Nergat. We ended up in a storage room at the southeastern corner of that stronghold.

I had set my triorder on silent mode, in hopes that I could scan for the spirits without attracting attention to our selves. It turned out that the interior of the stronghold was not shielded and we had a map of all the angel spirits. We moved down the corridor and quickly dispatched the angel keepers. As we expected there were a few angel spirits here. Anezka unlimbered an old favorite of mine, the blue mana dispersal weapon. She shot the spirits one by one, and freed, they gathered around Anezka, grateful for their freedom. She touched each one, and they left the room.

"Where are they going?" I asked.

"I have instructed them to go into the tunnel and wait for us," Anezka replied.

"Cool, now lets get the rest," I stated.

We retrieved all but the last batch, which were held in a central room. That room was only approachable through a maze, and that screamed TRAP, to me. The room was multi-level and centralized in the stronghold. The angels went through the main entrance while nergat provided a new passage for Calrea and me.

The angels were in a trap, set by Szadeck. There was a platoon of Romulans surrounding the chamber, and Caladea was down, probably unconscious.

"Now, you will join my angel spirits in servitude to the Dimir…"

I jumped down into the middle of the chamber, my phasers already in the beginning stage of the kata trance.

The Romulans didn't know what hit them. By the time I finished my kata trance, I was turning to Szadeck, and I was surrounded by craters, but didn't take a single hit. Szadeck left the room and sounded the alarm. I was still in my kata end position, one phaser up and one pointed down. As I put them away, Calrea mentioned, "Remind me never to piss you off!"

"Like I mentioned earlier, nobody gets one of my angels, _nobody_."

While Anezka was freeing the last of the angel spirits with the dispersal gun someone had attacked the stronghold. The building rocked from a few phaser blasts. Razia tossed Caladea over her shoulder, and we escaped into the tunnel while nergat melted the entrance, sealing us off. We led the angels, hortas, humans, and spirits to the other end of the tunnel, where the runabout _Newton_ was waiting for us. John had taken it out and had been in contact with Nergat all this time.

"Way to go Nergat!" I exclaimed, as we blasted through the undercity and headed back to the _Parhelion II_. The spirits seemed to be somewhat impatient as we downloaded them into their physical bodies. They seemed to know what was going on via their link through Anezka. She was able to convince them to be patient while the ships computer did its thing.

As the captives of the Dimir were freed, and returned to physical bodies, the angel contingent reached its total of 88 Boros angels. It was a sad figure when compared to the about 970 angels who originally occupied the first _Parhelion_. But they were _**my 88 angels**_.


	24. What Next

**24: WHAT NEXT**

There was an air of suspense hanging around the guildmage's council chambers. Since our arrival those chambers looked more like the bridge of a starship than a mage's council. The big question on everybody's mind (at least in the ranks of the 'barkers') was "What Next"?

As far as most of the Legion was concerned we all were 'barkers' and not 'biters', but that meant that the 'grunts' did what they were ordered, and we were the ones giving the orders. They just weren't used to the Angelic echelon being that involved! That's what a near-death experience does to a bunch of angels. As far as the troops were concerned, it was quite motivational!

Szadeck and Relar were particularly quiescent, especially after we collected the angel spirits. They were up to something, we were sure. But the Boros Legion wasn't the only target of the Dimir. There were eight other guilds to occupy their interest.

* * *

The knock on the door came entirely out of left field. The Sunhome Enforcer who sent the message up was totally confounded. The guildmages didn't know what to do either, so they called me in just in case this wasn't a matter for the angels.

"OK, just who is at the door?" I inquired.

"You'd better see for yourself," was the reply.

Do you have any idea how big Sunhome is? It makes the Sears Tower look like a bungalow. Sunhome is the second tallest building on the planet! This is the second time that I had to descend to street level, and I wasn't in the mood this time. However, those who knocked got my undivided attention.

Two beings were at the entrance to Sunhome. One was an angel, and the other was a Planeswalker.

"Reya! Elspeth! Welcome to the Legion!" I shouted while leading the pair past the enforcers and into the inner sanctum. We headed up to the guildmages chamber, on the upper levels. This was definitely an issue that the angels needed to address. We had a couple of special visitors. And Sara would be definitely interested! It wasn't everyday that a planeswalker dropped in to visit. And this one was a special one who with Reya's help joined the 'Council of Orderly Contemplation', for the nation of Bant. Both Sara and Razia were waiting for us in the guildmage's council chambers. There was a brief reunion between Sara and Reya, while I introduced Razia to the pair of visitors.

"So what bring you to Ravnica, and the doors of Sunhome?" Razia asked.

"We need your help," both Elspeth and Reya stated. Reya bowed out to let Elspeth say, "The situation on Alara had become overwhelming. The conflux is poised over the entire planet and threatens to destroy us all, and we face an unstoppable Grixis army!"

"Define 'unstoppable'?" I asked.

"Millions of undead!" Elspeth stated. "And I'm not kidding. Our front line is hundreds of thousands strong. It is also bolstered with the armies of Naya, whom we have allied with. But the army marching against them is over 100 miles long!"

So, the 'forces of Grixis' threatened to overrun both the continent of Bant, as well as the continent of Naya. The forces of both continents have banded together to face the common threat. It is the energies of the Conflux that worries Elspeth. She thinks that someone is manipulating that energy to their own ends, to the detriment of all others.

That would mean an inter-dimensional hop to the plane of Alara. We would have to get all (and I mean ALL) of the angels on board the _Parhelion II_ for this trip. I still had a 'phobia' about leaving angels behind where Szadeck could pick them off. Making rift bombs, on the other hand, was easy, as mana crystals were readily available. Both Sara and Reya were experts at it.

* * *

As we approached the orbit of Alara, the 'Conflux' vortex stood out against the blackness of space. It now encompassed a polar field over 20 000 kilometers in width! A hurricane of energies larger than the planet itself, it looked like a top hat the planet was wearing. Upon reaching orbit we decided to enter the atmosphere and head for the Bant Citadel. There seemed to be a battle raging between the angels there.

I looked at Elspeth, and she just blushed. There were two factions on the council, and half of them didn't want Elspeth going for help. "Many of the angels here don't think we need outside help, and didn't want Reya and myself going for help…" Elspeth trailed off.

"John, set the main phaser collimator on force one," I ordered.

"You're not going to fire on the angels!" Reya exclaimed.

"Watch me," I answered, while signaling to John.

The phaser lashed out and engulfed the citadel. A few angels started to fall toward the surface of Bant, and I called upon Allan to give them a beam up. Since the 9th generation scanners could penetrate the protective magics of the citadel, I ordered the beam-up of the remaining angels and had them all put in the shuttle bay. Then I explained that even the starships phasers could be set for stun!

When the rather haphazard pile of angels came to, we were waiting. There was Razia, Sara, myself, Pense and John as well as Elspeth and Reya.

"You of all beings should be setting an example for Bant!" I scolded.

Candella recognized me, and turned red with embarrassment. "Of all the people, the rescuing one appears to tell us off. Unfortunately, he is right," she acquiesced.

"Just what is this fight about?" I asked.

"Whether Reya and Elspeth should go out and seek help!" One of the other angels exclaimed.

"Well, guess what! You have sent out for help before, and _GOT IT_. What makes you think that you can solve this yourselves when the problem is obviously out of your hands?" I asked, while getting into the angels face.

He did not expect a mortal to challenge him in that way. But I think he felt that I wasn't alone both in 'power' and moral authority, and backed down.

"Listen up, all of you. We are here to help. That is all that Elspeth and Reya journeyed to do! They came to us because we had already helped before! The enemy isn't here, it's out there! And trust me, you definitely need our help," I concluded.

There was a free for all of apologies, and the Bant angels were all on the same page again. When they asked me to be returned to their citadel I declined. When asked why I replied, "Just in case I'm right, the only safe place for you is on board this ship. You need to trust me on this."

When Candella vouched for me the other angels acquiesced. Then the intercom chimed. It was Maya. "We have a device created to collapse that vortex."

"Then launch it," was my response. "Scratch one major threat to Alara." I announced.

"So why do you think that the only safe place for angels is on board your ship?" That angel asked.

"Because we detected an anti-white mana stream in the vortex. When the vortex is collapsed, which should occur," I checked my chronometer, "in about 20 minutes, all angels, which are manifested with white mana, will be destroyed by the collapsing vortex. Somebody who shall be left un-named but has the last name of 'Bolas' had put that effect into the vortex sometime in the past," I informed. "Luckily for you I have these things called shields..."

"But, there are angels on our front lines who are unprotected!" The angel replied. His attitude went from contempt to concern rapidly.

"Bridge!" I called over the intercom.

Nergat answered, "You rang?"

"We need to get to the staging area for Bant's defensive line. There are unprotected angels out there who will be destroyed when the vortex collapses," I informed.

"Heading for the Bant formation! Will inform when we get there," Nergat informed. Ten minutes later we were hovering over the center of the Bant defensive formation. They had joined with the elves and cat people of Naya to form a defensive line against the undead of Girxis. The Grixis 'wall' of soldiers would easily overrun the defenses and take over both continents when the defenders fell.

I brought the male angel to the bridge and pointed out just what his people were facing. It was a humbling experience. The viewer showed the extent of the Grixis forces, and they stretched for miles! "Just because we are mortals, it doesn't mean we don't know what we're doing. We come from a universe that has technology that surpasses your 'magic'!"

"I finally see. Thank you for being so helping despite how we treated you. You could have left us to our demise... "

"That wouldn't rest on my conscience. I am the rescuing one. Even if you don't expect it..." I trailed off.

As we corralled the other angels under the shields of the ship, The collapsing vortex unleashed their energies as they impacted the planet. The angels survived, as they all ended up behind the _Parhelion II's_ shields.

There was a flurry of avtivities as the angels were sent out to instruct the defensive formations on how do deal with megaton range explosions. They complied, since the angels were giving the orders, but many were confused by the fact that they all were sitting on the ground with their backs to the enemy who was on a relentless march only a few miles away. Then we dealt with the Grixis armies with a full spread of photon torpedoes. Twenty 60+ megaton warheads per salvo, would quickly deal with any massive army of creatures who were exposed to attack from above.

As the mushroom clouds rose above the Naya landscape, the defenders were elated. And they knew how to deal with a nuclear battlefield. A single salvo from the starship killed the majority of the attackers. Airbursts, from antimatter weapons, leaves no fallout behind, and only incinerated the land the attackers were standing on. All the angels survived the crashing of the conflux into the planet, against the designer of that manifested it. Nicol Bolas would have to deal with a full compliment of angels. All of the angels had gathered to give me thanks, and even the hardest of opponents had admitted that I was right.

"We're not finished yet," I replied. "Razia, would you like to demonstrate your purification spell for the Bant angels?"

"With pleasure," Razia responded while signaling to a set of her lieutenants. "Just beam us out and we will demonstrate…"

I signaled to John, and he relayed the message to Allan. There were metallic screams heard throughout the ship as angels were beamed into the defending formation. Then a series of smaller mushroom clouds appeared as the Boros angels started up what was effectively a mopping up campaign, with kiloton range detonations amongst the Grixis survivors. The defensive line could easily deal with who were left.

Razia had made her point, as many of the stragglers were put down by Boros magic. She then returned to the _Parhelion II_.

I explained that that I made as many mistakes as any other mortal, but when the righteous need help, I will be there, as I am now linked with the Ravnican angels. The other angels clued in to my philosophy and methodology. I just hope I didn't start a new trend with the Bant angels!

* * *

A few days later, Candella openly invited Sara back into the fold of Bant angels, and was politely rebuffed. Sara would stay at my side, as would Razia. My pair of angels wouldn't abandon me. We would head back to Ravnica, as that was where the angels needed to be.

Their Legion needed their guidance, and the angels were still few compared to their original strength. There were 88 plus 1 angels flying the Boros flag about Ravnica. They were the entirety of all the surviving angels and angel spirits that remained on or near Ravnica. The only other angels there were the 'Angels of Despair' - constructs of the Orzhov syndicate.

* * *

Before we left, we had a small surprise. The male angel who I had gotten into a tiff with earlier had become somewhat infatuated with Necia. Her feistiness had impressed him to such a degree that when we decided to return to Ravnica, he didn't want to leave her side.

Candella spoke up, "Alejo, If you wish, we will release you to the Boros angels. You can still serve there with our blessing."

He answered, "I do wish to stay with Necia, my Asura. I am torn…"

"Go with our blessing, Alejo. May the union be the continuation of good relations between the angels of Bant and the angels of Boros," Candella concluded.

Razia looked at me. "Why not? A stint with the Boros could be good for him. I hold no grudges," I replied.

"OK, then. As Stephen would say, welcome aboard," Razia informed Alejo.

"I hope my former attitude doesn't…" Alejo trailed off.

"I know you don't want to hear this, but welcome to the human race, sort of." I continued, "You are NOT infallible as manaverse angels. You're close, but no cigar. Us humans from the mana-less universe have learned that there seems to be no-one who is infallible, with the possible exception of the ultimate creator. Until we meet that being, we are left with the adage: Do the best you can with what you've got. So welcome aborad. May you and Necia have many happy years!"

"I should have realized that you don't bear me any grudges. Thank you," Alejo replied. "I see you do what's best for everyone to the best of your abilities. No wonder Sarassa and Razia love you so. I can love Necia as much as you…"

"I haven't met an angel that I haven't respected," I replied. "We might not always agree, but our hearts are in the right places, and that's what counts. As long as you treat Necia right, you won't have any problems from me."

"Thank you. I see you do treat your angels right, and I will pledge upon my honor to treat them, and you right." Alejo concluded. "This has been … an eye opening experience. I did not expect what I find with…" Alejo couldn't complete his statement.

I crossed the bridge and gave him a hug. Necia joined us. "We are here for you. For all of us. I built this ship as homage to the lost Ravnican angels, for my love, Razia. With Sara we rescued whomever we could of the angel spirits. Now we race to the future, where we all enter uncharted territory. What happens next, is up to us. The Boros angels have taken an intense interest with their Boros Legion, and that has inspired the mortals there. There is intrigue, inter-guild strife, and the Romulans backing the former 10th guild, the Dimir. We all could use an extra hand with this…" I trailed off.

Alejo gave Necia a hug, then embraced me. "Thank you for … my salvation, as it where. At least my education! I know that I can help! I am here for you all," as Alejo and Necia embraced.

"Then talk to Razia…' I concluded.

Razia stepped in and embraced both Necia and Alejo. "Welcome to the Boros legion," Razia announced. "You will quickly learn that intrigue is the norm for Ravnica."

I just shrugged, and said "Hey, out of the frying pan, and into the fire!"

Everyone on the bridge chuckled at that. We all have been through the 'gauntlet' and have survived. Now it was Alejo's turn.


	25. This Is the End

**25: THIS IS THE END**

Epilogue

I was back in Pivlic's tavern, the _Imp's Wing_. It was my defacto hangout while on Ravnica. I spent almost as much time here as I did aboard the _Parhelion II_, my current command.

I had changed employers numerous times in my starfaring career. My current employer was also one of my lovers, the Archangel Razia! Along with the angel Sara, the three of us were the defacto head of the Boros Legion, the foremost fighting force on the planet of Ravnica. Since our return from the mana-less universe that was my home and birthplace, the Boros Legion had seen an increase in its total firepower. It turned out that this was necessary as the Romulans had arrived and were equipping the Dimir. The combination of mana-less technology and magic as a potent force, and many of the other guilds were now seeking out this combination. Here in Utvaria, Teysa, had opened up a spaceport, and trade was beginnig between Ravnica and the universe that I called home.

But I felt more at home here than I did elsewhere. My two angels were from these mana universes, and I will _NOT_ leave their side. We had been through way too much to not stick together.

We had an entire alphabet's worth of problems still to face.

Azorious ambitions

Breaches in the space-time barrier

Cultist calamities and cunning

Dimir deviousness

Envious evil ethermages

Ferengi freighters fighting

Gruul goblins and giants

Hungover cultist hellions

Izzet imperiousness

Jovial Judiciaries

Klingon Kinetics and knifeworks

Lupuls and other lifeforms

Malfedorian machinations

Naïve guild nihilists

Orzhov operatives operating openly

Pirates finding the portal

Questions dealing with Q'o'nos

Romulans on Ravnica

Simic sneakiness

Tin Street terrorists

Unending undead

Vampire-ghost's viciousness

Wanton wraiths wreaking havoc

Xenomorphic xiphioids

Yellow eyed Yuxas

Zombies forming zeitgeists

While mulling over these, and a large bumbat, a ship was coming in to land at Teysa's bustling spaceport. Even the Boros had leased a building and docking bay there! Then another sound caught my ear.

"Assault shuttles?"

A flash erupted over Utvaria, and a small mushroom cloud rose into the night sky. When it cleared, a smoldering crater existed where the _Imp's Wing_ stood.


End file.
